HE FRIENDS 
FEATHERS 




iZ N. M C FEE 




Class QL(o7k 

Book M/4- 

CopightN 



CQPfliiGHT deposit. 




ROBIN 
Order — Passeres Family — Turdid/C 

Genus — Planesticus Species — migratorius 

National Association of Audubon Societies 



LITTLE FRIENDS 
IN FEATHERS 



BY 

INEZ N. McFEE 



NEW YORK 

BARSE & HOPKINS 

PUBLISHERS 



*$ 



Copyright, 1921 

by 
Barse & Hopkins 



AUG 31 1921 
©CI.A624155 



PREFACE 

We want you to know our "Little Friends in 
Feathers" almost as well as you know your 
human friends. We want you to be able to call 
them by name, instead of saying, "Oh, that is 
just a bird." That is why this book is written. 

It is not "scientific" — that is, it does not try 
to give learned Latin names of orders and 
species. It is just a chatty description of such 
feathered friends as the author has come to know 
and to love, and there is no reason why each one 
of her readers may not make these delightful 
friends and neighbors their very own. As they 
flit by our window they are cheerfully doing their 
bit in the economy of nature, making the world 
a brighter, happier place for us all. Wouldn't 
it be a dreary old world indeed without the birds ! 

For the beautiful color plates that adorn the 
book we are indebted to the courtesy of the Na- 
tional Association of Audubon Societies, and 
especially to their chief executive, Mr. T. Gilbert 
Pearson. We also wish to thank Mr. David S. 
Beasley and The University Society for permis- 
sion to use the many black-and-white drawings 
which are scattered through the text. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Making Friends with the Birds 1 

The Robin 12 

The Bluebird 20 

The Thrushes .25 

The Wood Thrush .27 

The Hermit Thrush • ... 29 

Wilson's Thrush, or Veery 32 

The Woodpecker Family 34 

The Flicker 36 

The Downy Woodpecker 39 

The Hairy Woodpecker 41 

The Red-Headed Woodpecker 42 

The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker 44 

The Belted Kingfisher 46 

The Bluejay 52 

The Sparrow Family . . . 56 

The Song Sparrow .58 

The Field Sparrow 61 

The Vesper Sparrow 62 

The Fox Sparrow 63 

The Chipping Sparrow 65 

The Canada Sparrow 67 

The English Sparrow . . 67 

The Finches 71 

The Goldfinch 71 

The Purple Finch 76 

The Chewink 79 

The Indigo Bunting 80 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Grosbeaks 84 

The Cardinal 84 

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak 88 

The Blue Grosbeak 91 

The Blackbird Family 93 

The Grackle 94 

The Red-Winged Blackbird 96 

The Meadow-Lark 98 

The Orioles 100 

The Bobolink 106 

The Cowbird 113 

The Tanagers 116 

The Scarlet Tanager 11.7 

The Summer Tanager .120 

The Flycatchers 122 

The Great-Crested Flycatcher 122 

The Kingbird . r 124 

The Phoebe 127 

The Wood Pewee 130 

The Least Flycatcher 133 

The Wrens 135 

The House Wren 135 

The Winter Wren 138 

The Marsh Wren 138 

The Carolina Wren 140 

The Swallows 141 

The Purple Martin 144 

The Barn Swallow . . . 145 

Other Swallows 148 

The Mocking-Bird Family 149 

The Mocking-Bird 150 

The Catbird 154 

The Brown Thrasher 158 

The Cedar Waxwing 161 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Warblers kji 

The Yellow-Breasted Chat 164 

The Redstart 167 

The Blackburnian Warbler 170 

The Ovenbird 171 

The Maryland Yellowthroat 17 4 

Tiie Yireos, or Greexlets 177 

The Red-Eyed Yireo 178 

The Yellow-Throated Vireo 181 

The Solitary Yireo 183 

The White-Eyed Yireo 181 

The Warbling Yireo 186 

The Cuckoos 188 

Some Distant Relatives 194 

The Whip-Poor-Will 194 

The Chimney-Swift 190 

The Ruby-Throated Humming-Bird .... 202 

Some Winter Yisitors 208 

The Snow-Buntings, or Snowflakes .... 208 

The Golden-Crowned Kinglet 209 

The Brown Creeper 211 

The Crossbill 212 

The Horned Lark 215 

The Jolly Chickadee . 217 

The White-Breasted Nuthatch 220 

The Starling 221 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Blue jay (Color) . . Cover Inlay 

Robin (Color Plate) . . Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Robin 14 

Bluebird (Color Plate) 22 

Wood Thrush 28 

Veery (Color Plate) 32 

Flicker 37 

Downy Woodpecker at Work 40 

Red-Headed Woodpecker (Color Plate) .... 42 

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker 45 

Belted Kingfisher (Color Plate) 48 

Blue jay 53 

Song Sparrow 59 

Chipping Sparrow 66 

Goldfinch 75 

Purple Finch .77 

Indigo Bunting 82 

Cardinal (Color Plate) 84 

Blue Grosbeak .91 

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Color Plate) . . . . 92 

Red-Winged Blackbird 97 

Meadow-Lark 99 

Baltimore Oriole 102 

Cowbird 113 

Scarlet Tanager (Color Plate) 118 

A Kingbird Family 125 

Phoebe 129 

Wood Pewee 131 

Least Flycatcher 133 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

House Wren 136 

Barn Swallow . . . . . .146 

Mocking-Bird . . .151 

Catbird 156 

Yellow-Breasted Chat 167 

Ovenbird . .. . . .171 

Maryland Yellow-Throat 176 

Red-Eyed Vireo 180 

Yellow-Billed Cuckoo . 189 

Chimney-Swift 200 

Ruby-Throated Humming-Bird 203 

Crossbill 213 

Horned Lark . 216 

Chickadee . 219 

White-Breasted Nuthatch 223 



LITTLE FRIENDS IN 
FEATHERS 

MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE 
BIRDS 

Birds, birds ! ye are beautiful things, 

With your earth-treading feet and your cloud-cleaving 

wings, 
Where shall man wander, and where shall he dwell — 
Beautiful birds — that ye come not as well? 

— Birds and All Nature. 

ACCORDING to an old legend, all the 
birds were once helpless things with bur- 
dens instead of wings. But they bore 
their burdens with brave hearts, ever striving and 
upreaching toward the blue heaven, and finally by 
means of much stretching, the burdens length- 
ened into wings, and the birds became joyous, 
happy creatures, free to soar upward in the bright 
blue sky, or to sing merrily, mad with joy, from 
the topmost branches of some leafy tree. 

Aside from the pleasure the birds afford us by 
their sweet songs, their beautiful plumage, and 
their innocent ways, they are very useful. In- 
deed, wise men say that we could not live upon 
the earth without the birds. They are Nature's 



2 LITTLE FRIENDS IX FEATHERS 

army and they carry on a constant warfare with 
injurious insects, choking weeds, and destructive 
rodents of all sorts. Without them as allies, 
agriculture would gradually go to satisfy the ter- 
rible appetites of the increasing thousands of 
rodents and insects. In his tale of The Birds of 
Killingworih, Longfellow tells us what happened 
in a village where the town council was mad 
enough to order all the birds slain because they 
fancied they ate a little too much of the crops. 

The days were like hot coals; the very ground 

Was burned to ashes ; in the orchards fed 

Myriads of caterpillars, and around 

The cultivated fields and garden beds 

Hosts of devouring insects crawled, and found 

No foe to check their march, till they had made 

The land a desert without leaf or shade. 

Glad indeed were the people of Killingworth 
to acknowledge their error and to import birds 
into their community from far and near. But 
their experience did not serve as sufficient warn- 
ing to other folks in real life. In certain of our 
western States, acts were once passed giving 
bounties on hawks and owls. And not until the 
grasshoppers had increased so that they threat- 
ened to rival the Biblical plague and the field mice 
had destroyed many a noble orchard and alfalfa 
crop, did the legislatures awake to their folly, and 
repeal the laws. Then the hawks and owls, the 



MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS 3 

one working by night and the other by day, flew 
to the rescue, and with the help of the crows and 
of the gulls and herons which flew inland almost 
for the purpose, it would seem, the pests quickly 
disappeared. 

Yon may know whether a bird is a pest or a 
blessing by what he eats. Some birds do all good 
and no harm; few, if any, can be said to do no 
good. The Biological Survey and the Audubon 
Societies of our country have been of inestimable 
help in determining what birds are useful, not 
only by watching their habits in life, but by ac- 
tual examination of the contents of their stom- 
achs. They have found that, "The thrushes, 
wrens, larks, and sparrows scour the surface of 
the earth for insects. The warblers, nuthatches 
and creepers inhabit the trees and bushes, and 
few insects escape their microscopic eyes. The 
woodpeckers; besides looking after the limbs and 
bark of trees by digging into the wood, draw 
forth and devour the burrowing larvae which are 
safe from all other foes. Flycatchers and 
warblers snap up the winged insects as they fly 
from tree to tree, and nighthawks and swallows 
patrol the high air above pastures, bushes and 
trees, on the alert for those of the enemy who have 
escaped pursuit below. The waters and their 
shores also have their feathered police which keep 
in subjection the marauding insects and rodents, 



4 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

except where man destroys the balance of nature 
by killing the patrols." 

It is a matter of pride that our country is so 
fully alive to the importance of its birds and that 
it has taken so many active steps for their pro- 
tection. We have very strict bird immigration 
laws, game bird laws of one sort and another, 
and some fifty or more island bird-reservations 
off the coast of Florida, Oregon, and California, 
where the feathered beauties may nest in safety. 
A few States have laws forbidding women to 
wear birds' wings, plumes, or whole birds on their 
hats ! But happily the need for such laws is be- 
coming rare. Women no longer wish to satisfy 
their vanity at the expense of the birds. They 
have come to see that "life and joy and song are 
costly trimmings for a woman's bonnet." 

All the trades are represented among the birds. 
For instance, the robin is a mason. See him 
daub mud and clay on that forked twig, and mix 
in straw and sticks to hold it together! The 
woodpecker is a carpenter. Look at him over 
there drilling a neat, circular opening into that 
hollow tree! By and by, he and his industrious 
mate will have a nice warm home deep down in 
the trunk of the tree. The oriole is a weaver, 
and a very skillful one too. Where are the hands 
that could fashion a swing nest-cradle and fasten 
it so securely in the apple tree, that even the 



MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS 5 

strongest winds can not avail to dislodge it? 
By examining a bird's nest, one can nearly 
always tell what sort of tools the builder used. 
Thus, the oriole, the hummingbird, and the little 
marsh wren, with their long, sharp bills, can 
easily weave a dainty nest ; but the grosbeak, with 
his thick clumsy bill, can only manage to lay his 
nest loosely together. There is a vast amount 
of art shown in the construction of a nest from 
cast-off hairs and feathers, dead rootlets, bits of 
bark, and all sorts of odds and ends, such as no 
other creature would care to use. And it is all 
still more wonderful when we consider that the 
little worker is limited to just two tools — a beak 
and a pair of claws ! 

A bird's nest. Mark it well, within, without; 

No tool had he to work, no knife to cut; 

No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert; 

No glue to join; his little beak was all. 

And yet how neatly finished! What nice hand, 

With every implement and means of art, 

And twenty years' apprenticeship to boot, 

Could make me such another? 

The selection of the place where the home is 
to be built is a very serious problem for the birds, 
and it is always considered very carefully. In- 
deed, so grave is the question that some birds, 
like the oriole, settle the question once for all time, 
and return to the same home year after year. 



6 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

It has been noticed that birds always build their 
nests near the places where their food is found, 
and at the time of the year when this food is the 
most plentiful. Both of these provisions are very 
wise, as most young birds are extremely greedy 
and keep their devoted parents constantly on the 
move even to satisfy their hunger in part. Some 
birds, such as the chickadee, nuthatch, and brown 
creeper, do not build nests of their own, but hunt 
around until they find a second-hand one which 
is to their liking. The cowbird does not like the 
responsibility of being a mother and having to 
care for and feed her babies, so she watches her 
chance and lays her eggs in the nests of other 
birds. This is a great annoyance to the owner 
of the nest who is wise enough to detect the de- 
ception, for if the egg is allowed to hatch, the 
baby is so greedy that he eats far more than his 
share, and when he gets large enough often 
crowds his little foster brothers and sisters out 
of the nest, and they perish. Some birds are 
quick to detect the trick. They can not throw 
out the egg; it is too large, so there is nothing to 
do but build a new home. Often we find homes 
among the warblers that are built two or three 
nests, or stories, high. 

Ye have nests on the mountains^ all rugged and stark, 
Ye have nests in the forest, all tangled and dark; 
Ye build and ye brood 'neath the cottagers' eaves. 



MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS 7 

And ye sleep on the sod 'mid the bonny green leaves; 

Ye hide in the heather, ye lurk in the brake, 

Ye dine in the sweet Hags that shadow the lake; 

Ye skim where the stream parts the orchard decked land, 

Ye dance where the foam sweeps the desolate strand. 

It is interesting to watch the birds come and 
go, as they journey from one community, or 
clime, to another. Birds migrate as soon as their 
supply of food begins to fail. The birds which 
devour insects are the first to go, leaving the latter 
part of August or the first of September. As a 
rule, most birds congregate in flocks and journey 
together. As these birds go South, the j uncos, 
pine finches, winter wrens, shrikes, and others, 
arrive from the Xorth and remain throughout the 
winter, and until our summer friends begin to 
come back in March. 

Birds fly very swiftly, often going a mile a 
minute, and if the wind is favorable, keeping it 
up hour after hour. Swifts have been known to 
fly two hundred miles an hour. Wild geese 
travel from twelve to fifteen hundred miles a day. 
Did you ever see a flock of them on the wing? 
It is an interesting sight. They fly in two lines 
which meet in a wedge-shaped point. The leader 
takes his place at the point and guides the flock; 
when he gets too tired, he falls back and one of 
his aides takes the helm. The flock always keeps 
in perfect order, even while the leaders are chang- 



8 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

ing. They fly many thousands of miles to the 
North to build their nests in summer. It is said 
that the tiny flame-breasted hummingbird trav- 
els a distance of over two thousand miles twice 
every year. He builds his nest as far north as 
Alaska, and winters in Lower California and 
Mexico. 

Some birds can fly faster than others because 
their wings are better shaped for flying. All 
birds which take long journeys have strong, long, 
pointed wings, while those which fly only a short 
distance have short, rounded wings. A bird's 
body is built for flight. Its plumage is very light, 
that of the largest owl only weighing about one 
and one-half ounces. The shape of the body and 
the backward arrangement of the feathers aid 
the bird in its flight. The hollow bones and quill 
feathers are filled with air and the air sacs extend- 
ing through the body, even through the bones, are 
connected with the lungs. The light plumage, 
the expansion of warm air, and the strength of 
the tail and wing feathers enable the bird to 
move through the air with an easy, gliding mo- 
tion. 

Most birds fly by day, but there are some, such 
as the whippoorwill and kingfisher, that journey 
only at night. These usually fly very high, un- 
less they are prevented by fog or storm. Some- 
times during storms the birds lose their way, be- 



MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS 9 

cause their eyes cannot see to magnify objects as 
they do when the weather is clear, and thus they 
dash against tall buildings or wires, and meet 
with death. It is a question how the birds know 
where to go the first year. Probably they lisren 
to the guide calls of the old birds and go under 
their escort. 

Often birds change their clothes during the 
year. Their feathers get worn by storms and by 
brushing against the branches of trees, and they 
drop out one by one, as the season advances, and 
are replaced by new ones. The new fall suit is 
often so different from that worn during the sum- 
mer that we almost fail to recognize familiar 
friends when they appear on the lawn. Take the 
goldfinch, for instance. His summer plumage 
is a very bright gold, with shining jet-black trim- 
mings. In the fall, he appears before us in a 
very demure suit of somber grayish-brown. And 
our gay, dashing friend, Robert of Lincoln, in 
his neat shining suit of glossy black, with white 
trimmings, looks like anything but himself in his 
fall dress of yellowish-brown! Indeed, the once 
saucy fellow seems half-ashamed of himself and 
slinks away among the grasses, his merry song 
forgotten, and with only one thought in his be- 
fuddled little brain — that of filling his stomach. 
It is said that the change of plumage is a wise 
provision of Mother Nature's to disguise and pro- 



10 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

tect the birds from their enemies in the air and 
field, as they journey to the southland. But in 
spite of this protection, the loss during migra- 
tion is always very great, and no doubt that little 
bird considers himself fortunate who manages to 
make the trip without encountering storms, can- 
nibal birds, or the gun of man. 

It is in the spring that the birds wear their 
brightest plumage and sing their sweetest songs. 
It is then that they are most gay and active and 
repay one for every moment spent' in watching 
them. Neltje Blanchan, in her interesting book, 
"Bird Neighbors," says: "Not to have so much 
as a bowing acquaintance with the birds that nest 
in our gardens or under the very eaves of our 
houses; that haunt our wood-piles; keep our fruit 
trees free from slugs ; waken us with their songs, 
and enliven our walks along the roadside and 
through the woods, seems to be, at least, a breach 
of etiquette toward some of our most kindly dis- 
posed neighbors." 

I once knew a crippled girl whose greatest en- 
joyment was to lie by her open window and watch 
the birds which came to the old apple tree close 
at hand. And you would be surprised to know 
how many stragglers from the great army of 
spring and fall migrants found their way there! 
It seemed as though they knew one pair of bright 
eyes would welcome them eagerly! So you see 



MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS 11 

you can study birds whether you live in the city 
or in the country, whether you have one tree or 
a dozen — the main thing is to keep your eyes 
open. 

In the following pages you w r ill read of the 
feathered friends that I have come to know and 
to love. I am sure you will be interested in them, 
and that you will want to make the whole group 
friends of your own. And there is really no 
reason why you cannot do this! Some one has 
said: "You must first have the bird in your 
heart before you seek him in the bush." So read 
the description of each bird friend carefully, get 
a clear mental picture of him, and an idea of his 
personal traits and characteristics; then you will 
Lnow him when you meet him. You will have a 
card of introduction, as it were, and you can get 
on a friendly footing at once. See how many 
real bird secrets you can discover this season! 
For a beginning, suppose you ascertain beyond 
a doubt what it is that the robins whisper about 
at three o'clock in the morning! 'Tis a problem 
that has puzzled many. 

I. N. M. 



THE ROBIN 

EVERYBODY knows the robin. Since 
the very earliest times people have been 
hearing and telling wonderful things 
about him. In that old, old ballad, "The Babes 
in the Woods," we read of the robin redbreast's 
strange custom of burying the uncared-for dead 
with leaves and soft woodland mold. Of course, 
the robin redbreasts described in this poem are 
not our own beloved robins, but their cousins, the 
merry little robin redbreasts of England. 

It was an unwritten law in early days that to 
injure or molest a robin would bring swift venge- 
ance from on High. The youngster in those 
days well knew the warning that : 

A robin in a cage 

Sets all heaven in a rage. 

And that : 

The robin and the wren 
Are God Almighty's cock and hen, 
Him that harries their nest 
Never shall his soul have rest. 

Probably it was this old rhyme, coupled with 
the native English love for these two favorite 
birds, that led the poet to write those well-known 

12 



THE ROBIN 13 



lines regarding the wedding of Cock Robin and 
Jenny Wren. He told very happily of the 
charming courtship, the gay marriage, the picnic 
dinner, and of how the guests drank to the health 
of the bride and groom : 

For each took a bumper 

And drank to the pair; 
Cock Robin, the Bridegroom, 

And Jenny Wren, the fair. 

Then while the guests were singing a grand 
chorus, it occurred to the poet that it really was 
a poor match and that the wren and the robin 
could never be true mates, so he nibbled his pen 
and finally decided to bring in tragedy and end 
the affair. So in came an angry cuckoo who had 
not been bidden to the wedding festivities, and 
jostled rudely against the frightened little bride. 
An uproar followed, and the sparrow, who was 
best man, took it upon himself to avenge the 
bridegroom. He hurried out and came back with 
his trusty weapon, the bow and arrow, and shot 
at the offender. But, like many another excited 
marksman, he missed his aim and shot the hand- 
some bridegroom, Cock Robin. A sad ending to 
an improbable tale! But some way we are glad 
that this mating never came any nearer happen- 
ing, for now T we have Mr. and Mrs. Robin as near 
alike as two peas, the female being only slightly 
duller in color and with a paler breast. 



14 



LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 



There is an Algonquin Indian legend about 
the origin of our own American robin; I wonder 
if you have ever read it. Whittier tells us all 
about it in one of his beautiful poems. It seems 
that there was once a great chief who wished to 




#»' : v-. 



if v 

Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

ROBIN 
The best known and most popular of all birds. 

make a brave, noble warrior of his only son. 
According to Indian methods, this could be done 
only by causing the lad to endure many hard- 
ships and privations, so he was shut up alone in a 
great, lonely lodge. 



1 



THE ROBIN 15 

Seven days the fast lie kept. 
Seven nights he never slept. 
Then the young hoy. wrung with pain, 
Weak from nature's overstrain^ 
Faltering, moaned a low complaint: 
"Spare me, father, for I faint!" 
But the chieftain, haughty-eyed, 
Hid his pity in his pride: 
"You shall he a hunter good, 
Knowing never lack of food; 
You shall be a warrior great, 
Wise as fox and strong as bear; 
Many scalps your belt shall wear, 
If with patient heart you wait 
Bravely till your task is done." 

Early the next morning the chief hurried to 
the lodge with moose meat and boiled samp, but 
lo, the boy was dead! Human flesh could stand 
no more. As they made his grave, a brown bird 
with a red breast, a bird no one remembered to 
have seen before, perched on the lodge-top and 
sang as with a human tongue: 

"I, a bird, am still your son, 
Happier than if hunter fleet, 
Or a brave, before your feet 
Laying scalps in battle won. 
Friend of man, my song shall cheer 
Lodge and corn-land ; hoverinr: near, 
To the wigwam I shall bring 
Tidings of the coming spring." 

And how nobly the bird has carried out its 



16 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

promise ! In the sun and in the rain we hear his 
merry "Cheer-up, cheer, cheer!" Who can he 
sad and gloomy when he pipes his merry strain? 

The robin has been a sacred bird ever since he 
tried so vainly to draw out some of the cruel 
thorns from the Savior's brow as He hung on the 
cross. Indeed, many people claim that it was 
here that he dyed his gray breast red in the blood 
that nothing could wash away. 

But there are many stories as to how Robin 
came by his red breast. Whittier says: 

Have you not heard, 
My poor, bad boy ! of the fiery pit, 
And how, drop by drop, this merciful bird 
Carries the water that quenches it? 

He brings cool dew in his Lttle bill, 
And lets it fall on the souls of sin; 

You can see the mark on his red breast still. 
Of fires that scorch as he drops it in. 

An old Xorse myth tells us that there was once 
but one fire to keep the earth warm. It was built 
away in the far north, and tended by an old man 
and his little son. One day the father fell ill, 
and for many weary days the brave boy tended 
the fire and cared for the sick man. At last the 
tired lad fell asleep, and the fire died down till 
nothing was left but a few blackened embers. 
The white bear ran out and trod uj^on them till 



THE ROBIN 17 

he thought the fire was quenched. As he ran 
growling back to his cave, a little gray robin fiew 
down and searched with her sharp eyes until she 
found a tiny, live spark. This she patiently 
fanned with her wings. Although her little 
breast was scorched red, she did not give up until 
the fire grew into a bright blaze. Then she flew 
away with a burning brand. Wherever she 
stopped, a fire soon began to burn, and thus the 
whole northland was lighted up. 

Dear "Bron Rhuddyn," however you came by 
your red vest, it is a most beautiful one and very 
becoming to you ! 

The robin is a typical American, joyous and 
free. "There is something distinctly human 
about the robin," says Burroughs; "his is the note 
of boyhood." Xo other bird can say so much in a 
single note. He questions, chatters suspiciously, 
cries out in alarm or anger, and twitters lovingly 
to his mate, all within the space of a half hour. 
His love song, like that of most birds, is his best 
song, and is at its height in the springtime of the 
year, — a liquid, happy, cheerful melody, full of 
the beauty of the earth and sky and the many 
charms of his demure little mate. 

As a rule, the robins are kind and sociable to 
other birds, but they are revengeful and will fight 
a rival or an enemy tooth and nail. They are 
among the most graceful of our birds and are 



18 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

famous bathers, but there their neatness ends. 
We are shocked when we view their home. It 
is worse than a hurrah's nest, if you've any idea 
what that is! Such a shabby, hastily-built af- 
fair of sticks and straw, plastered together with 
mud, and so dirty that we can scarcely see that it 
once had a soft, well-woven downy lining! Ah, 
Mrs. Robin, for all your softness and daintiness, 
you are a sorry housekeeper ! 

But you are everything to Robin^ 

Silent partner though you be ; 
Source and theme and inspiration 

Of each madrigal and glee. 

And his bright eyes can see no fault in you! 
This is well; some husbands would be driven to 
drink by your untidiness ! 

Mr. and Mrs. Robin raise two families of four 
or five birdies each, every year. They come back 
to the same tree season after season, and often 
begin housekeeping without bothering to clean or 
repair the old nest. The little robins do not seem 
to mind their dirty surroundings, and are as 
hearty, cheery, and homely as little birdies can 
well be, getting out of the nest at the age of eleven 
days and hopping about on their wobbly legs, 
soon joining in the chorus of their father's jubi- 
lant song with a weak, piping "Cheer! Cheer!" 

Robin is a member of the Thrush family and 
own cousin to the bluebird. He is a very indus- 



THE ROBIN 19 

trious fellow and fully believes in catching the 
early worm. He has a great appetite and has 
been known to cat more than his weight in worms 
every twelve hours. He is a "ground gleaner, a 
tree trapper, and a seed sower," and one of man's 
best friends. 

You will know him by his distinctive size and 
markings. He is a husky fellow about ten inches 
long with long tail and plump breast of reddish 
hue. His head is black, upper parts gray, and 
the red under parts have white trimmings. The 
wings are somewhat pointed and long. The tail 
feathers are broad and slightly rounded; they 
are black and show white marks w T hen the bird 
is flying. Mrs. Robin is not nearly so well- 
dressed as her liege-lord, all of her colors being 
paler. 



THE BLUEBIRD 

Winged lute that we call a bluebird, you blend in a silver 

strain 
The sound of the laughing water, the patter of spring's 

sweet rain. 
The voice of the winds, the sunshine, and fragrance of 

blossoming things. 
Ah ! you are an April poem that God has dowered with 

wings. 

■ — Retford. 

THE bluebird, or blue robin, as some peo- 
ple call him, is the first bird to tell of the 
coming spring. He comes when the 
fields are bare, and begins to warble over them : — 

"Summer is coming, summer is coming, 

I know it. I know it — 
Light again, leaf again, love again!" 

And what a change his song seems to make! 
Warmth and new-budding life appear every- 
where as if by magic. If cold winds pipe over 
the plain, and storm clouds sweep the sky, he 
carols still more sweetly and encouragingly, and 
his low notes seem to burst the bonds of winter. 
He has been called "the banner-bearer of Bird- 

20 



THE BLUEBIRD 21 

land," "the minstrel of April, 1 ' "the angel of 
springtime," and "the bird with the Easter mes- 
sage," and he has every right to each loving title. 
His song has been put into words by many ad- 
mirers, and to each one he has given a different 
message. Burroughs hears him say, "Bermuda! 
Bermuda!" and "Purity! Purity!" Another 
thinks he says that his song is "Trually, Truly, 
True!" At the close of the summer his song is 
low and rather mournful, as though he were say- 
ing over and over again, "Dear! Dear! Think 
of it! Think of it!" No doubt he mourns the 
loss of the happy days gone by, yet he may have 
in mind only his beautiful plumage which has 
disappeared with the leaves and the flowers. 
Listen to his notes. What does he say to you? 

Hark! how the music leaps out from his throat! 
Hark! was there ever so merry a note? 
Listen awhile and you'll hear what he's saying, 
Up in the apple tree swinging and swaying. 

"Little white snowdrops! I pray you arise; 
Bright yellow crocus ! come, open your eyes ; 
Daffodils! Daffodils! say, do you hear? 
Summer is coming, and springtime is here!" 

The bluebird belongs to the Thrush family, 
and is like his cousin robin in many ways. He 
is about three inches shorter than robin, or about 
seven inches long. His coat is like a bit of bright 



22 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

blue sky. His throat, breast, and sides are cin- 
namon red and his under parts are white. His 
bill is black. He has dark legs, but strangely 
enough the soles of his feet are yellow. There is 
a pretty legend which tells how he came by these 
yellow soles. 

It seems that before and during the time of 
the flood the birds did not have feathers to pro- 
tect them. When the land birds were gathered 
into the ark, they huddled together on one side 
of the boat and twittered about the good days 
coming. But by and by, as the rain continued, 
it grew very cold, and nearly all the birds stopped 
singing. However, there were two whose spirits 
did not seem to be at all dampened by the dreary 
weather, and they continued blithe and gay, seek- 
ing to make the best of things. At last the rain 
stopped and a tiny ray of sunshine glanced 
through a crack. These birds, always on the 
lookout for bright things, sprang upon it at once. 
There was just enough bright gold to cover the 
soles of their feet, and it stained them so deeply 
that it would not rub off. 

The bluebird's brilliant coat is also nicely ac- 
counted for. It seems that they were the first 
birds to leave the ark, flying straight toward 
heaven, singing as they went. Mr. Bluebird was 
a little in advance of his mate, and when lie came 
to the blue sky he never stopped, but pushed his 




BLUEBIRD 

Order— Passeres Family— TuRniD>E 

Genus— Sialia Species— Siaus 

National Association of Audubon Societies 



THE BLUEBIRD 23 

way right through, and in so doing rubbed some 
of the blue tint into his uncolored feathers, that 
had grown in a flash when he left the boat. Mrs. 
Bluebird flew right through after him, but of 
course she did not get as much paint as her lord 
because the hole was nearly rubbed dry of its 
tint. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird often raise three fam- 
ilies in a season. They go to housekeeping early 
in April, and for a time Mr. Bluebird fills all the 
air with his mad carols. The home is often an 
old woodpecker residence, though they may take a 
notion to Jenny Wren's comfortable quarters and 
drive her away without bothering to serve notice. 
They like to build in the bird houses which people 
put up in their gardens, but their enemies, the 
English sparrows, will seldom allow it. Usually 
the birds have to content themselves with a hole 
in a hollow tree or fence post. 

Unlike her cousin, Mrs. Robin, Madam Blue- 
bird is a very neat housekeeper. If the chosen 
home has been occupied before, she gives it a very 
careful cleaning. Then the nest is begun. It is 
quickly made of sticks and straw and dried 
grasses and lined with hair. From four to six 
pale blue eggs, about an inch in length, are laid 
for a sitting. 

At first the little bluebirds are not blue at all. 
Thev are almost black. Like many other little 



24 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

birds, they have speckled breasts, which they dis- 
card like bibs as soon as they learn to eat and 
behave like their elders. They get their hand- 
some blue color very slowly so as not to turn 
their heads, we suspect. When they are from 
fifteen to twenty days old they leave the nest. 
This is often a rather difficult feat when the nest 
happens to be way down in a hollow tree. It is 
said that the old birds build up a little ladder 
for them to climb out on. As soon as they are 
introduced to the outer world, the father takes 
them in hand and trains them up in the way they 
should go, while the mother raises another brood. 
Bluebirds are valuable citizens. It is said that 
a single pair of birds will destroy from fifty thou- 
sand to one hundred thousand worms in a single 
season. Like the last leaves on the tree, they 
linger, forsaken, yet true to their home, and hop- 
ing for a brighter to-morrow until the chill winds 
of November drive them away. The bluebird is 
well-known throughout the United States east of 
the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the 
Gulf. In Arkansas, the home of the writer, they 
are resident birds, and come close about the door 
in winter in search of crumbs. 



THE THRUSHES 

"All. will you. will you?" sings the thrush, 

Deep in his shady cover, 
"Ah, will you, will you live with me, 

And be my friend and lover? 

"With woodland scents and sounds all day, 

And music we will fill you. 
For concerts we will charge no fee. 

Ah, will you — will you — will you ?" 

— C. P. Cranch. 

SUPPOSE we accept the invitation and get 
acquainted with the whole Thrush family. 
You remember that the robin and the blue- 
bird belong to it. The thrushes hold a high 
place in the bird kingdom because of their beauti- 
ful voices. Most of them are very modest and 
unassuming in dress, being clothed in demure 
olive-brown, but they possess a noble bearing and 
have plenty of character. The story is told that 
when Mother Nature gave the birds their plum- 
age, the thrush came last and the attractive colors 
were all gone. The oriole had chosen the or- 
ange; the canary was dressed in yellow; the blue- 
bird had selected the blue ; the tanager had taken 
the red; and the doves and humming-birds had 



26 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

monopolized the rainbow colors. The thrush 
gazed admiringly at their pretty gowns and said, 
"Never mind, dear mother, a plain brown dress is 
good enough for me, but give me a sweet voice, 
so that I may make the children happy." 

Evidently the request was granted for the 
thrush's song has delighted both young and old 
since time immemorial. It was the thrush who 
was chosen from the great company of birds to 
sing the psalm at Cock Robin's funeral. He 
"sat in a bush" and no doubt brought tears to the 
eyes of his feathered audience. Tne thrush's 
songs are spiritual; they appeal to our higher, 
better emotions, and their music seems to voice 
our purest, noblest thoughts and aims. 

Of the thrush family proper, there are five 
members — the olive-backed thrush, Alice's 
thrush, the hermit thrush, wood thrush, and Wil- 
son's thrush or veery. The three last named are 
the best known and the sweetest singers, and the 
only ones we shall be apt to meet. Let us learn 
to know them well. The thrush is a high-bred, 
gracious bird, and his olive-brown coat and strik- 
ingly heart-shaped spots on his breast easily iden- 
tify him. It takes only a little study to be able 
to distinguish between the veery, the wood thrush, 
and the hermit. The veery hides away, the wood 
thrush is willing to show you considerable confi- 
dence, and the hermit thrush, as his name indi- 



THE THRUSHES 27 

cates, steals around by himself where the wood- 
land shadows are deepest. The veery's voice vi- 
brates mysteriously through the air in pulsating 
circles; the wood thrush's notes ring out like the 
chimes of a hell; while the hermit's hymn swells 
through the woods like the notes of a grand 
cathedral organ. 

THE WOOD THRUSH 

O, gentle soul of the forest, 
When hot the neon rays fall, 
You sing of the dim, cool shadows, 
With their peace and rest for all. 

Teach us in the glow of morning, 
In the glare of bright noon day, 
In the dim of lengthening shadows, 
To brighten with music the way. 

— Compton. 

The wood thrush is about two inches shorter 
than the robin, or about eight inches long. He 
is known in different localities by the names of 
song thrush, wood robin, and bell-bird. The last 
name is given to him because of his beautiful 
bell-like voice which has a strong, rich metal l; c 
tone unlike any other bird utterance. Blanchan 
says: "His every gesture is graceful and ele- 
gant ; even a wriggling beetle is eaten as daintily 
as caviare at the king's table." He is the tamest 
of the thrushes, and will give you his gentle con- 



28 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

fidence if he finds that you do not abuse the trust. 
Usually the wood thrush nests in the woods, 
though it is quite often found in groves near 
dwellings. The nest much resembles the robin's, 
save that it is deeper. The eggs are blue, after 
the fashion of all the thrush family. The wood 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
WOOD THRUSH 
One of the friendliest of our little neighbors. 

thrush guards his nest faithfully, and is very care- 
ful not to sing while near it. The opening notes 
of his song sound like "Come to me! Come to 
me!" and are said to be given by the wise little 
bird to lure intruders away from the egg treas- 
ures. His pure luscious love song has been trans- 
lated into the following syllables, "U oli-a-e-o-li- 
noli-nol-aeolie-lee!" 

The wood thrush is a beautiful warm brown 
color, like ground cinnamon; reddest on the head, 
shading into olive on the tail. His under parts 



THE THRUSHES 29 

are plain white in the middle, but thickly marked 
on the breast and sides with very dark brown 
heart-shaped spots. He has a whitish eye ring. 
He arrives early in May, and usually stays until 
September. He is a ground-gleaner, a tree- 
trapper, and a seed-sower. We have often met 
him in walks through the garden, and have fre- 
quently seen him come to the edge of the back 
porch and peep in, but he never dared venture up 
on the boards. 

THE HERMIT THRUSH 

In the deep, solemn wood, at dawn I hear 
A voice serene and pure, new far, now near. 

Singing sweetly, singing slowly, 

"Holy; oh, holy, holy!" 

Again at evening hush, now near, now far — 
Oh, tell me, art thou voice of bird or star? 

Sounding sweetly, sounding slowly, 

"Holy; oh, holy, holy!" 

The Hermit Thrush, or Little Swamp Angel, 
as he is lovingly called, has the most exquisitely 
beautiful voice of any bird in America, and can 
be compared only to the nightingale of Europe. 
Xo words can convey a true idea of his music. 
He 

. . . "sounds his magic flute 
And makes the woods a shrine." 



30 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

John Burroughs calls his song the finest sound 
in Nature. "It is not a proud, gorgeous strain 
like the tanager's, or grosbeak's," he says; "it 
suggests no passion or emotion — nothing per- 
sonal, but seems to be the voice of that calm, sweet 
solemnity one attains to in his best moments. It 
realizes a peace and a deep, solemn joy that only 
the finest souls may know." 

The hermit thrush is the first thrush to come 
and the last to go, arriving early in April and 
leaving in November, though but few people 
catch a glimpse of him during his long residence. 
He is to be met only in damp, shady places where 
it is always twilight, in the fascinating haunts of 
the snail, slug, and beetle. He likes these 
clammy, silent neighbors; they are so useful at 
meal time, which is any time and all the time. 
If we steal quietly in the dusk of the early morn- 
ing into the thick woods and stand very still for 
awhile, we may not only hear, but see the hermit. 
He is scratching away in the edge of the thicket 
where the leaf mold is the thickest, and pauses 
now and then to listen for overhead and under- 
ground sounds and to pour out his joy of living. 
Such rare food as he finds in his leafy haunts! 
The most wonderful insects and all sorts of out- 
grown and castoff finery, not to mention grass- 
hopper nymphs and whole baskets full of eggs of 
all sorts hidden in the decaying logs» Like all 



THE THRUSHES 31 

thrushes, he is a lover of berries, wild or tame, 
and delights to revel in a berry patch. 

Few people have been fortunate enough to dis- 
cover the hermit's nest. It is built of moss, 
coarse grass, or pine needles, and placed on the 
ground in some shadowy, secluded place. 
Housekeeping and the "struggle for bread" is of 
little consequence to a pair of hermits. Being 
placed in the very haunts of insects, the fledglings 
can help themselves to rambling creatures without 
even leaving the nest. The little hermits stay 
around the nest longer than most young birds, 
as their food is close at hand and they have no 
fondness for stretching their wings. Indeed, 
about the only flying the hermits indulge in is 
during the migrating season. 

The hermit thrush is about seven inches long. 
His upper parts are olive-brown, reddening near 
the tail, which is pale russet, quite distinct from 
the color of the back. The breast, throat, and 
sides of the neck are pale buff. The feathers of 
the throat and neck are finished with dark arrow- 
points at the tip. The breast feathers have large 
rounded dark brown spots. The sides are brown- 
ish gray. Underneath parts are white. The 
hermit thrush is the most common in the eastern 
parts of the United States, though it ranges to 
the plains. It winters from southern Illinois and 
Xew Jersey to the Gulf. 



32 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

WILSON'S THRUSH, OR VEERY 

Thrilling sweet at the close of the day, 

Out of the dusk and the gloom, 
Softly muffled and far away 

Under the dogwood's bloom, 
Cometh the voice of a lonely bird 

Chanting the song of the trees; 
Solemnly, weirdly the air is stirred, 

Trembles the twilight breeze. 

The Wilson's thrush, or veery, is a very shy, 
elusive bird, "a sort of vocal will-o'-the-wisp" who 
often entices us into the heart of the damp forests 
and then suddenly forsakes us. Dwellers near 
the woodland often hear the veery's voice thrill- 
ing through the silent watches of the night the 
"songs of long ago." It is said that a person may 
sit quietly down on a log in the deep shadows, and 
draw a crowd of veeries by imitating their call 
note, a whistling wheew-whoit. 

The veery is known is some localities as the 
tawny thrush. He is the smallest of the three 
common thrushes, and is not so strongly marked 
as the others. He also lacks the white ring about 
the eye which is a distinguishing feature of the 
other two. The veery is about one-fourth smaller 
than the robin. He has a slender, graceful form 
clothed in demure olive-brown. The center of 
his throat is white, but the sides and upper part of 
his breast are a creamy buff. His breast is 




THE VEERY 
Order- Passeres Family— Turdid* 

Genus _H YL OC.CHLA SpedeS-FUSCESCENS FUSCESCENS 

National Association of Audubon Societies 



THE THRUSHES 33 

lightly spotted with brown wedge-shaped points. 
The veery ranges through the United States 
westward to the plains, migrating in May and 
October. 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY 



w 



"T T TOODPECKERS are no g° od >" 

says Johnny, stoutly, "They bore 
holes in trees and kill them." 

I wonder if you agree with him? If you do, 
you do not know the woodpeckers, that's all! 
Come with me to woodpecker land, and let us 
find out about them, really and truly. Where is 
this land? Oh, all about us; in the thickets and 
orchards, in the berry patches, and the woodland, 
in short, wherever there are borers, beetles, ants, 
grasshoppers, and such fruit as the poison ivy, 
dogwood and June berries, wild grapes and cher- 
ries. Keep your eye open for a bird clinging to 
the side of a tree "as if he had been thrown at it 
and stuck." 

Few birds are better adapted to their mode 
of life than the woodpecker is, the structure of his 
bill, tongue, tail, and feet being all admirably 
suited to his needs. His mission in life is to rid 
the trees of insects which hide beneath the bark, 
and he works industriously no matter what the 
weather. 

The woodpecker is not a musical bird, and yet 



34 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY ;35 

his rolling tattoo would be missed from the woods 
and fields. This tattooing, or drumming, is 
made to answer several purposes, such as testing 
a limb to see whether it is green or hollow, scaring 
the insects from their hiding places under the 
bark, and hollowing out holes for nests. It also 
serves as a love song. Did you ever watch one of 
these feathered drummers pound out his song? 
How he seems to enjoy it ! He picks out a sharp, 
rolling k-r-r-r-ring , and then peers proudly 
around as though challenging the whole wood- 
pecker tribe to produce another as grand. He 
frequently punctuates each roll with his call note 
of Peck! Peek! which cuts the air like a chisel. 
It is said that, in the land of Norway, the chil- 
dren will not feed this wicked bird. For it once 
did a very evil deed. It seems that, when on 
earth the Master trod, He stopped one evening, 
faint, weary, and footsore, at the door of a small 
cottage. The housewife, in a bright red hood, 
was busily making bread, and He begged eagerly 
for a loaf. Said she to herself : "My loaves are 
small, they will scarcely last till baking-day comes 
again. I will give the smallest one." But lo! 
when the loaf was in the oven, it grew and grew 
till it quite outstripped the others, and the dame 
could not bear to give it away. So she molded 
a smaller loaf and put it in to bake. Then, as 
before, the dough grew and became the largest 



36 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

loaf. The dame was puzzled, but her stinginess 
did not abate. ' 'Tis much too large to give 
away," she said, and turned to make another loaf. 
Then, indeed, was the Master wroth. "Go up in 
your hood of fire," He cried sternly. "Fly forth, 
woodpecker vain, and seek your food 'neath bark 
and bole, with never a drink till it rains." So, 

"From that day to this, with soot on wings, 
She tappeth the trees for her bread, 

And is ever athirst as she whistles for rain, 
With a warm red mutch on her head." 

There are about thirty-five species of wood- 
peckers in North America, and, taken the world 
over, about three hundred and fifty birds cling to 
the family tree. We are not apt to meet more 
than five members of this world-famous family. 
They are the flicker, or golden-winged wood- 
pecker, the downy, his big cousin, hairy, the red- 
headed woodpecker, and the yellow-bellied sap- 
sucker. 

THE FLICKER 

The flicker, or golden-winged woodpecker, is 
the most charming and beautiful member of the 
family. He bears the whole world of color in 
his coat, and attracts so much attention wherever 
he goes that people have given him a host of 
names. He is called the yellow-hammer, the 
high-hole, the pigeon woodpecker, the yucker, the 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY 



1*7 



hittoek, the yarup, among others. In the Hud- 
son Bay country the people call him the Ou-tkee- 
quan-nor-ow. Down in Louisiana he is called 
Mo n sic u r Piq u e-bois-Ja une. 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

FLICKER 
A polite fellow who delights to wear pretty clothes. 

You may have seen the flicker feeding along 
the ground in the pasture and mistaken him for 
a meadow-lark. The hirds are nearly of a size, 
about eleven inches long and the flicker, like the 



38 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

meadow-lark, wears black crescents on his breast. 
But the flicker has a deep red crescent on the nape 
of his neck, and there is a white patch at the base 
of the tail, which shows very plainly as he rises in 
the air. 

The flicker is a very polite bird, and fairly over- 
does himself bowing and scraping to his lady love. 
It is too funny ! He is so evidently proud of his 
fine person. He stretches his wings and tail to 
show their admirable length and color. He bows 
low to exhibit his beautiful red neck crescent. 
He steps forward and back, bridling, and swell- 
ing out his breast to call attention to his fancy 
vest. And all the time he keeps up a dreamy, 
coaxing note like the swishing of a willow wand. 
Then, every once in a while, he spoils all his ef- 
forts with a silly, nervous laugh — itick-a-tdck- 
wich-a-mch-a — so loud and shrill that it fairly 
makes one shiver. 

Mr. Flicker is not nearly so much of a miner 
and grubber as the other members of his family. 
His chief food is ants, and his long, slender 
tongue is a fitting tool to probe into their gal- 
leries. When not in use, it lies in his bill like the 
wrinkled wrist of a glove. 

The flickers drill a hole high up in the tree for 
their nest. As a rule, there are from six to eight 
pure white eggs that are as glossy as though they 
were enameled. Audubon claims to have found 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY 39 

a flicker's nest with eighteen hearty birdies and 
three eggs in it. This makes lots of work for the 
parent birds, for little woodpeckers need a great 
deal of food to make them grow properly and to 
be able to leave the nest in sixteen days. The 
parents feed them i:i a sickening fashion. That 
is, it is a sickening one to ns. They do it by 
pumping food from their own stomachs down the 
birdies' throats. The mother bird just sticks her 
long bill way down the little chap's throat and 
shakes him and prods him until it would seem 
as though his head would come off. But it 
doesn't, and the little fellow really seems to like 
it! He is always wanting more, and he grows 
very rapidly. 

The flicker's call note is a rousing yarup! He 
is most commonly seen from April to October, 
though if the winter is not too severe he is a resi- 
dent bird. He is known over the United States 
east of the Rockies, in Alaska, and sometimes on 
the Pacific slope. 

THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 

Look on the trunk of an apple tree for the so- 
cial downy, the smallest and perhaps the most 
useful of the woodj)eckers. He is hardly more 
than six inches long, but he is "all there." Note 
his neat black and white coat, with the funny 
little red patch on the back of his neck. (Mrs 



40 



LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 



Downy wears a white patch instead of a red one.) 
His tail is shaped like a wedge, and he uses it to 
prop himself securely against the tree. 




Photo by H. K. Job Courtesy of Outing Pub. Co. 

DOWNY WOODPECKER AT WORK 
He is the official apple-tree inspector. 

See how industriously he works! He is an 
apple-tree inspector. From daylight till dark 
he searches for the rascally borers, and it takes 
a wise one to escape him. See him tap and then 
pause to listen. Ah! there is something in that 
crevice — "Come right out of there, Mr. Borer!" 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY 41 

Downy says, and disposes of the villain at once; 
for he is more than an inspector. He is police- 
man, judge, jury, jailer, and jail. Any loafer 
on the tree is considered a nuisance, and Downy 
swallows him without even giving him a chance to 
prove his innocence. He is past-master at stop- 
ping ant armies in full march, and it would be 
hard to guess how many beetle eggs he destroys 
in a day. 

Downy stays with us all the year. No winter 
is too cold, no summer too hot for his business. 
He likes an occasional meal of fruit and vege- 
tables, but it is always things which Nature fur- 
nishes offhand. He is partial to the haunts of 
man, and has been known to pick flies from the 
window pane. He loves to pound out his love 
song on a tin roof, for he cannot sing, and de- 
pends considerably upon his skill as a drummer 
in his wooing. Downy's nest is chiseled deep in 
the trunk of a tree, secure from the cold and 
wet, and the eggs, like those of all woodpeckers, 
are glossy white. 

THE HAIRY WOODPECKER 

The hairy woodpecker is a large edition of his 
cousin downy, being about midway between him 
and the flicker in size, but he is not nearly so so- 
ciable. He prefers a home in the forest, and is 
very quiet and unassuming, save at mating time, 



42 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

when his loud drummings fill the woods. But 
woe to the little maid who listens to him! for 
hairy is a selfish fellow and a long way from a 
model husband. As winter draws near, he makes 
himself a nice cozy home in the heart of a tree and 
leaves his wife to shift for herself, not allowing 
her to so much as darken his door. In the spring, 
however, he quickly relents, and makes all sorts 
of fresh, enticing promises to the neglected one, 
and she, poor thing, forgives him and comes back, 
with a heart full of hope, only to be treated again 
in the same shabby fashion. The call note of the 
hairy woodpecker is loud and shrill and some- 
what resembles that of the kingfisher. His coat 
is black and white, his vest white, and he has a 
dab of red on his head — a touch of color that Mrs. 
Hahy lacks. 

THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 

The red-headed woodpecker wears the national 
colors, red, white, and blue, so dignifiedly, that 
many think he, instead of the eagle, should be 
our national bird, particularly as he is so much 
more common. He has been called the Flag 
Bird — but alas for his reputation, sometimes his 
blue is so black that he is accused of wearing the 
German colors. He is a merry drummer, com- 
ing and going to suit himself, where beechnuts 




RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 
Order — Pici Family— Picid,e 

Genus— Mei.anerpes Species — erythrocephaujs 

National Association ot Audubon Societies 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY 43 

and grasshoppers are plentiful. He hides a win- 
ter's store of food in odd crannies — hollow trees, 
knot holes in buildings and fence posts, crevices 
in railroad ties, even pounding them in between 
roof shingles, covering them carefully with bark 
and leaves. The red-head does very little grub- 
bing. He prefers to pick up his food, and is an 
expert fly-catcher. His home is a model of art, 
the doorway being leveled out in true carpenter 
style. The red-head's rattle is much like that of 
the tree-toad, and sounds like ker-r-ruck, ker-r- 
ruch. 

The worst that can be said about the red-head, 
is that he is fond of feeding on the eggs of other 
birds. But this does not happen very often, so 
we are willing to believe that it is the work of 
some bloodthirsty or crazy red-head, and that it 
is not a family trait. 

He is about nine inches long, and the noisiest 
of his tribe. His call is a cry sounding like 
Queer. 

It is a curious fact that young red-head wood- 
peckers do not have red heads; their heads are 
gray. From four to six birdies fill the sawdust 
nest very comfortably. They are cheery, happy 
little chaps, and soon grow big enough to see the 
big world outside the nest, if their enemy, the 
black snake, does not find them out and eat them. 



44 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

THE YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a nuisance, not- 
withstanding his good nature, his handsome 
plumage, and his skill in capturing slugs and in- 
sects while on the wing. He cares nothing for 
fruit, but 

"He girdles the maple round and round: 

'Tis heart-blood he drinks at each sweet wound: 

And his bacchanal song is the tap-tap-tap 

That brings from the bark the clear-flowing sap." 
• —Edith M. Thomas. 

He kills many fruit and shade trees every year 
with his little rows of "honey pots." Because, 
you know, a tree lives only in its outer layers, and 
when it is girdled the sap cannot run up and down 
to nourish it. Of the shade trees, the sapsucker 
likes best the white birch and the maple. Do you 
know why ? 

The sapsucker is daintily marked with white, 
black, and yellow, with a bright red crown, chin 
and throat. He wears a large black crescent on 
his vest. A yellowish-white line begins at the 
bill and passes along below the eye down the side 
of the bird, finally merging into the yellow un- 
derpays. His wings are gayly decorated with 
white; his tail is black, with white on the middle 
of the feathers. He is about eight inches in 
length. 



THE WOODPECKER FAMILY 



45 



He seems to know that man has no reason to 
be his friend, and takes extra care in hiding- his 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 
His habit of drilling into sap trees makes him a public nuisance. 

nest, drilling way into the heart of the tree, that 
the young birds may be safe. 



THE BELTED KIXGFISHER 

I WONDER if you have ever met a bird fish- 
erman { The belted kingfisher is just such a 
fellow. If you do not know him, you must 
watch out for him and make his acquaintance, 

"O'er the river's brink on a summer day, 

Where lingering shadows love to play. 

On an overhanging branch sits he. 

And "waits and watches patiently ; 

Until, with his ever-restless eye. 

He sees a silvery fish swim by. 

Then darting into the river's flow, 

Like an arrow from an archer's bow. 

With a daring flash and a splash of spray, 

He seizes hold of his finny prey. 

And flings a wild laugh to the skies, 

As he mounts above with his shining prize." 

— C. J. Hunt. 

Every sportsman knows the belted kingfisher 
and can describe him to you. He is larger than 
the robin, being about twelve inches in length. 
His leading color is grayish-blue; his head is 
finely crested. There is a white spot in front of 
each eye. He wears a white band around his 
throat, and his wings and short tail are much 

46 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER 47 

speckled. He lias a broad bluish band, or belt, 
spotted with white, across his breast, hence his 
name "belted kingfisher." Young birds wear a 
chestnut belt. The kingfisher's bill is large and 
heavy. 

There are nearly two hundred varieties of king- 
fishers, though only a dozen of them live in Amer- 
ica. The headquarters of the family is in the 
East Indies. The belted kingfisher is the only 
one of the family that lives in the United States, 
with one exception, a cousin in southern Texas. 
He is familiar to every one who dw T ells near a 
river or pond. 

The kingfisher is a born fisherman. His fa- 
vorite haunts are well- wooded streams, lakes, and 
ponds where fish are plentiful, and where he can 
ply his trade in quietness and peace. His harsh, 
discordant cry breaks the stillness of the wood- 
land. 

Hark ! What sound disturbs the stillness 
Of forest; of the meadow? 
Harsh the notes^ a wild alarm, 
Waking echoes from the ledges, 
.Mocking laughter from the hemlocks. 
Hark! It nearer comes and rattles, 
Like the hail upon the grape leaves; 
Like cold rain upon the cornfield. 

Let us stroll by the river's brink and spy upon 
the belted kingfisher as he patiently fishes for his 



48 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

breakfast. Hush! There he is, sitting motion- 
less, like a statue, on that overhanging branch. 
How intently he stares into the water! He i. 
looking for a school of small fish. Splash ! He 
has dived into the water. Xow he reappears 
with a shining fish in his beak, and, with a tri- 
umphant cry, bears it to his perch. It is only a 
small fish, so he swallows it at once, head-first. 
If it had been larger, he would have killed it first, 
by giving it a few sharp raps against the tree. 
Besides fish, the kingfisher eats insects, crayfish, 
and crabs. 

The belted kingfisher is more or less a solitary 
bird, and, except during the mating season, two 
birds are rarely seen together. Mr. and Mrs. 
Belted Kingfisher's voices are both so harsh and 
strident, that their calls to one another sound as 
though they were continually quarreling. They 
are quite devoted to each other, but, unlike most 
birds in the nesting season, seem unable to soften 
their voices. 

The nest is built in a long winding hole which 
they excavate in a sandbank, preferably one that 
rises from a stream. At the opening in the bank 
the hole is about three inches in diameter, and 
gradually increases as it extends back some six 
or eight feet where it terminates in a dome-like 
living-room. Sometimes, when no suitable site 
in a sandbank can be found, the nest is built in a 




*t~£*|tf$U HO 



BELTED KINGFISHER 
Order-CcccvGES Family-ALCEDiNio^ 

Genus— Ceryle Species— a lc yon 

National Association of Audubon Societies 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER 49 

hollow tree. It is a queer affair, and we doubt 
very much if the babies find it comfortable. It 

is built mostly of fish bones and scales, and lined 
with a few scattering feathers, grass, and leaves. 
There are six or eight clear, shining white eggs. 
The young usually stay in the nest until they are 
fully fledged. The kingfishers are much at- 
tached to their home, which has cost them so much 
labor, and they return to it year after year. 
They have been accused of stealing the homes of 
water rats and making their nests therein. 

The kingfisher is also called "the halcyon." 
Ancient myths and fables tell of a bird called the 
halcyon, which built a floating nest on the sea. 
It was said to have the mysterious power of calm- 
ing the troubled waves while the young were be- 
ing reared. Perhaps some of you may have 
heard the term "halcyon days," meaning a time 
of fair weather. Long ago, it was thought that 
the dead body of a kingfisher would keep one safe 
from harm in war and protect him from lightning 
in time of storm. Even now, in some places in 
France, it is said that people call the kingfisher 
a moth-bird and firmly believe that his body will 
keep moths away from woolen cloth! 

The belted kingfisher is supposed to migrate 
in November, but if the weather is mild, he fre- 
quently stays for the winter fishing. It is said 
that when the time comes for migration, the 



50 LITTLE FRIENDS IX FEATHERS 

young kingfishers leave their parents and journey 
south alone. 

"Little bird, little bird, who guides thee 
Over the land and over the sea?" 

"Ah, my kind friend, God guides me 
Over the land and over the sea." 

I must tell you of my first acquaintance with 
the kingfisher. We were out fishing, but I grew 
tired of staring at the water and watching in vain 
for a bite, so I withdrew some distance from the 
bank and gave myself to the enjoyment of a book 
which I had brought with me. Suddenly through 
the woodland stillness there came a harsh, noisy 
rattle, and a bird alighted on an overhanging 
branch not far from me. I knew him at once 
for the kingfisher, for I had seen his picture only 
a few days before. He did not see me. He had 
eyes for nothing but the water beneath him. 
Suddenly he dived head first, and appeared in a 
moment with a struggling fish — better luck than 
I had found! He flew back to his perch in the 
tree with a triumphant cry, and smote his finny 
prey sharply against the branch two or three 
times. Soon the fish's struggles were over, but 
I found the kingfisher's had only just begun. 
Such a time as he had swallowing that fish! He 
gagged and writhed and tried to swallow it whole ; 
then, regretting his haste, brought it up again, 



THE BELTED KINGFISHER 51 

turned it around, and tried again, hoping per- 
haps to find a wider avenue down his throat! 
Evidently the scales scratched their way through, 
and such terrible faces as he made! It was really 
comical to watch him in spite of his evident dis- 
tress. One could not help wondering at his love 
for fish, since it cost him so much to gorge it down. 



THE BLUEJAY 

ALMOST every one knows the blue jay, 
but where is one that loves him ? He is 
a cruel, inquisitive, dashing little bandit, 
with scarcely any traits that one can admire. 
He is very awkward, and his slow, heavy move- 
ments make him the clown among birds. He is 
a jack of all trades, handy among many things, 
but doing none of them exceptionally well. For 
instance, he can shift among the leaves on the 
ground searching for insects after the manner of 
the ground birds, or he can sit high on an old oak 
tree and hammer away at acorns as industriously, 
but not as effectively, as a woodpecker. 

The jay is a scold, and loves the sound of his 
own voice raised in angry clatter. He has a 
number of calls and does a good deal in an ama- 
teur way. Some of his notes are quite pleasing 
to the ear, especially his whistling bell-note while 
mating, and his summer call of " Linnet! Lin- 
net!" He loves to imitate other birds, and is es- 
pecially fond of giving the hawk's cry, and watch- 
ing the small birds run to cover. He has no use 
for a screech owl, and even the sight of one drives 
him into a scolding frenzy. 

52 



THE BLUEJAY 



53 



The blue jay is a great tease. He is as fond 
of mischief as a small boy. He likes to destroy 
things, and no creature can beat him at hiding 
stuff. He is in the height of his glory if he can 
come upon a squirrel's store of chestnuts and 



**:*-■ 




A 








Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

BLUEJAY 
A bully and bandit that one cannot help liking, despite his bad manners. 

acorns, and helps himself greedily, with the ut- 
most scorn and derision at the little furry fellow's 
protests. He is utterly fearless where man is 
concerned, and his loud "Jay! Jay!" particularly 
invites assault. Where is the school boy who has 
not at some time been tempted to shy a stone 
at the impudent' little rascal? You know the 
old lines: 



54 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

"Jay-bird, jay-bird, settin' on a limb. 
Winked at me. and I winked at him, 
I picked up a stone and split his shin. 
Now. confound yon. wink agin!" 

Few poets have been inspired to write lines 
about the jay. Emerson, however, defended him 
by saying that he j^robably did more good than 
harm, referring, no doubt, to the bird's habit of 
burying nuts and seeds in the ground, thus giving 
many a beautiful shrub and tree to the world. 
Xo bird has a finer color, or a more kingly bear- 
ing than the jay. But his beauty covers "a mul- 
titude of sins," and he is a fine symbol of the old 
adage, ''Handsome is as handsome does." 

See him over there on that tree! How his 
handsome blue body glints in the sun! He is a 
trifle larger than our friend Hobin, you see, and 
wears a fine black band, or a collar, round his 
neck. His wings and tail are a beautiful blue, 
striped with black. Many of his feathers are 
tipped with white, and his under parts are a 
dusky white. His bill, tongue, and legs are 
black. On his head is a fine crest which he bears 
as regally as ever king wore coronet. 

The jay is at his best during nesting time, or 
from April to September. He drops his love of 
noise, and, for him, preserves a silence which is 
truly remarkable. Xo doubt, lie realizes that 
every one knows his voice, and that if he spoke 



THE BLUEJAY 55 

he would reveal the precious secret of the nest 
high in the old elm tree. This nest is a clumsy 
affair of sticks, rootlets, rags, grass, or any old 
thing, and usually contains about six olive-gray 
eggs spotted with brown. Mrs. Blue Jay and 
her mate look after it very carefully, and only 
sally forth occasionally to rob the nests of their 
peaceful neighbors, or to search for insects. 

The iay eats a great many insects which are 
harmful to vegetation. He stays with us all the 
year, and, in spite of some of his ugly traits, we 
are glad that he does, for we should certainly miss 
his rousing call and his handsome color, which 
holds our admiration as a bit of blue sky dropped 
from above. When we consider the jay's indus- 
try in planting nuts, his fondness for noxious in- 
sects, and his careful attention to parental duties, 
we feel that he may have been too heavily weighed 
in the balance. A bird so exquisite in plumage 
must have some redeeming qualities. As Riley 
says: 

Mr. Blue jay. full o' sass, 
In them baseball clothes of his, 
Sportin' round the orchard jes' 
Like he owned the premises. 



THE SPARROW FAMILY 

EVERY one knows the sparrow. But 
alas! the audacious little English sparrow 
has so clouded the family name that even 
the mention of "sparrow" to those ignorant of 
the many delightful members of this family pro- 
duces a shudder of disgust. Isn't it a pity that 
we did not have bird immigration laws back in 
the seventies? Then the misguided citizens of 
New York who imported English sparrows to 
kill the insects which were destroying their shade 
trees would have been prevented. Under our 
present laws no birds, excepting canaries and 
parrots, can be brought in without the consent of 
the chief of the Game Preservation Division of 
the Department of Agriculture. And you may 
be very sure he is particular to bar nuisances of 
any kind! 

The sparrow has figured in history and tradi- 
tion since the beginning of time. We are told 
that it was the sparrow that warned Eve not to eat 
of the forbidden fruit. It was a sparrow, you 
remember, who shot the bridegroom, Cock Robin, 
and so covered himself with shame and disgrace. 

In the story of Joseph, we read how the spar- 
se 



THE SPARROW FAMILY 57 

rows ate the bread from the top basket, whieh 
the chief baker dreamed he carried on his head to 
the king. Perhaps the Bible does not really say 
that the bird was a sparrow, but what bird is there 
that is more friendly with the baker, or more 
likely to creep through the crevices in a wicker 
basket? Indeed, it is the chief delight of the 
sparrows to creep in and out of niches and crev- 
ices. In Scotland, many of the cotters leave 
little places in the thatched roof for the accom- 
modation of these birds. 

There are about forty kinds of sparrows in the 
United States, though usually not more than five 
varieties are to be found in any one locality. 
The sparrow belongs to the largest of the bird 
families, and is own cousin to the finches, the gros- 
beaks, the buntings, the linnets, and the cross- 
bills. True, there is little family resemblance 
between some of these birds, yet all have certain 
marks which show their kinship. For instance, 
all have short, stout, conical bills suited to crack- 
ing seeds. They are seed-sowers and weed-war- 
riors. Nearly all of them are fine songsters. 

"Sparrow" means "flutterer," in old English. 
The sparrows are birds of the ground, or not far 
from it, and Xature has dressed them in somber 
colors that protect them from cats and other en- 
emies. As the little grayish-brown birds run 
along the ground, they look so much like Mother 



38 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

Earth that we are likely to pass them unnoticed, 
— that is, unless our eyes have "been opened" so 
that we are always looking for birds. Sparrows 
destroy a great many insects during the year, but 
their chief diet is weed seeds. Xo birds are more 
valuable to the farmer and gardener. Five of 
this interesting family may be met almost any 
day.: They are the song sparrow, the field spar- 
row, the vesper sparrow, the fox sparrow, and the 
chipping sparrow. 

THE SONG SPARROW 

Sunshine set to musie ! 
Hear the sparrow sing! 

In his note the freshness 
Of the new-born spring. 

In his trill delicious 
Summer overflows — - 

Whiteness of the lily- 
Sweetness of the rose. 

— Lucy Larcom. 

This is the song sparrow! He is the dearest 
of the sparrow flock. You must learn to know 
him ; he is a sure cure for a broken head, a stubbed 
toe, or the sorriest case of "the blues." Early in 
the morning, when the sun is "boiling hot" at 
noon time, in the cool of evening, just any time 
you can hear him singing. 

Mr. and Mrs. Song Sparrow are dressed ex- 
actly alike in plain coats of brownish-gray, heav- 



Till: SPARROW FAMILY 



>!) 



ily streaked, dotted, and striped with many shades 
of brown and lilac. There is a blaek spot on 
the breast and the wings and tail are plain gray- 
ish-brown. They are about six inches long. 
When running around, they haye a cute way of 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

SONG SPARROAY 
His silver tongue is a sure cure for the blues. 

sticking their tails straight up, just like a wren. 
They straddle their little stick legs wide apart 
and spread their toes in such a funny way! It 
makes one smile to watch them. While flying, 
they have a habit of pumping their tails. It 
seems to make them go faster. 

The song sparrow is not a bold bird, but he 
always chooses some conspicuous perch while 



60 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

singing. He is called the bird with the silver 
tongue. Many people have tried to put words 
to his music, and none of them have put the same 
thing! But of course, no two of them heard the 
same sparrow. Imagine two people always say- 
ing the same thing! Girls in Massachusetts say 
that the song sparrow says: "Maids, maids, 
maids, hang on your teakettle, tea-kettle-ettle- 
ettle!" What have you heard him say? 

Often he sings while flying, and then his song 
is longer. He and his cousin, the vesper sparrow, 
are the only ones of their family that sing while 
on the wing, and the vesper sparrow does not 
do it very much. The song sparrow's call-note 
is a sh'arp little "chip, chip" 

Mrs. Song Sparrow's nest is made of dry 
grasses, bits of bark, and horse hair, cleverly 
concealed in a clump of grass. There are usually 
four or five grayish-white eggs, all clouded and 
speckled with lavender and brown. Sometimes 
as many as three sets of birdies are brought off in 
a summer. And such work as they do make! 
But then they eat just anything, and they soon 
get big enough to help. It is fun to see the old 
birds get food for their babies. They always 
pick up a whole mouthful at a time. And they 
always want to carry more ! They go with their 
mouths so full that bits stick out all around! 
And sometimes these little bits are insects that 



THE SPARROW FAMILY 61 

wriggle out and slip away. What tales they 
must have to tell their friends! 

The song sparrow is known throughout the 
United States, though it differs slightly in color 
in the various localities. In many States it re- 
mains all the winter, a cheery little chap even 
when the snow is falling, and a welcome comrade 
of the chickadees. Winter quarters are from 
southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the Gulf. 

THE FIELD SPARROW 

The field sparrow loves the field and brushy 
pasture lands. He is very shy, but I am quite 
sure you have seen him flitting from bush to 
bush, just a little way ahead of you all the 
time, and coaxing you on with a little snatch 
of song. 

The field sparrow is frequently mistaken for 
the chipping sparrow or the vesper sparrow. 
But there is no need for this. He has some 
marks that are all his own. To begin with, he 
has a more reddish-brown back than any of the 
small sparrows. He has a chestnut crown (so 
has the chipping sparrow) but the field sparrow 
has a red bill, while the chipping sparrow's bill 
is black. His song is much like the vesper spar- 
row's. But watch him. If he flies shyly away 
as you come near, and you cannot see any white 
tail quills, you may know he is the field sparrow, 



62 LITTLE FRIENDS IN LEATHERS 

for the vesper sparrow shows the "white feather" 
very plainly when he flies. 

The field sparrow usually nests in the bushes, 
and for this reason is often called the hush spar- 
row. About three broods are raised during the 
nesting season, which lasts from May well into 
July. The eggs are from three to five in num- 
ber and vary in color and markings, sometimes 
the greenish-white color is relieved by reddish 
spots, again they are almost plain. The field 
sparrows arrive early in April, and leave in No- 
vember, ranging from the British provinces to the 
Gulf and westward to the plains. They winter 
from Illinois and Virginia southward. They are 
not quite so large as the song-sparrow. 

THE VESPER SPARROW 

The vesper sparrow is a bird of the country 
road-side and brushy clearings. He has been 
called the bird with a message from heaven. He 
is a twilight singer, most familiar at evening- 
time, because few people get up early enough to 
hear him in "the twilight of early dawning." His 
song resembles that of the song sparrow, but he 
begins with one low note followed by two higher 
ones, while the song sparrow begins with three 
notes all of the same kind. He prefers the top 
of the fence when executing his best music. Dr. 
Chapman says: "Lie cannot, like many birds, 



Till-: SPARROW FAMILY 63 

sing between mouthfuls, but ascending to his 
percli he gives perhaps half an hour entirely to 
music, resting motionless between tbe intervals 
of each song." 

The vesper sparrow is a grass bird. He eats 
and sleeps and rears his young amid its kindly 
screening tendrils. In some communities, he is 
known as the grass finch. In others, he is called 
the bay-winged bunting. This name is given 
him because of his reddish-brown wing coverts. 
He is especially common in eastern parts of 
North America. from Hudson Bay to the Gulf. 
Winter quarters are south of Virginia. He is 
about the same size as his cousin, the field spar- 
row. 

THE FOX SPARROW 

The fox sparrow is the largest, plumpest, and 
reddest of all the sparrows. Because of the red- 
dish-brown arrow-heads which mark his breast 
and sides, he is sometimes mistaken for the hermit 
thrush. However, a glance at his short, stou»t 
bill would at once identify him as a member of 
the finch family. In some localities, he is called 
the foxy finch. Just why the term "fox" came 
to b*e applied to him, is hard to say, for he cer- 
tainly has none of his namesake's malicious cun- 
ning. Doubtless, it is because of his "fox-red" 
coat. 



64 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

The fox sparrows arrive early in March and 
they bring with them a wealth of Spring melody 
which sends thrills of pleasure through the listen- 
ers. Mr. Fox Sparrow carries the banner for 
being the finest songster in the Sparrow Fam- 
ily. Blanchan says: "His full, rich, luscious 
tones, with just a tinge of plaintiveness in them, 
are poured forth with spontaneous abandon which 
is enough to summon anybody with a musical ear 
out of door under the leaden skies to where the 
delicious notes issue from the leafless shrubbery 
by the roadside." 

He delights to scratch around among the dead 
leaves in a thicket in search of insects to piece 
out his usual diet of seeds. He contrives to 
scratch with both feet at once, a trick which 
would doubtless surprise old Biddy, if she could 
but catch him at it. He loves company and is 
usually found with a flock of comrades. The 
nests are built quite near together in the grassy 
pastures and meadows, under the very noses of 
the cattle and sheep. No doubt old Spotty and 
old Brindle could tell all sorts of cute things about 
the little bird babies, if they could only speak. 
Probably they often laugh over them till their 
sides ache! 

The fox sparrows are among the first birds to 
come, and the last to go. They travel south- 
ward in small flocks. Often their cousins, the 



THE SPARROW FAMILY 65 

white-throated sparrows, go with them. Winter 
quarters are south of Illinois and Virginia. 

THE CHIPPING SPARROW 

The chipping sparrow is a very humble, unas- 
suming little neighbor, familiar to every one from 
Newfoundland to the Gulf, an'd westward to the 
Rockies. Each section of country has a name 
for him; one calls him chip bird, another names 
him social sparrow, and still another calls him 
hair bird. The latter name is given him because 
he uses so much hair in the construction of his 
nest. It is a title which many birds might share 
with equal right ! 

The chipping sparrow is often called "a bird 
of one talent," because he has only one high, wiry 
trill, chip, chip, like the buzzing of a locust, which 
he makes serve for every occasion. He is a very 
cheerful little chap, and does not seem to mind his 
lack of musical ability. Indeed, it is doubtful if 
he knows it! He never keeps still long enough 
to find out what the other birds are singing. 

The male chippy is sometimes mistaken for the 
field sparrow r on account of his chestnut crown. 
A glance at his bill would settle the question, for 
the chipping sparrow has a black bill, while the 
field sparrow's is red. The chipping sparrow 
also has more gray mixed in its chestnut and 
brown coat. The wings and tail are dusky 



66 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

brown. Mrs. Chippy, unlike her mate,- has a 
crown streaked with black. Her bill is brown- 
ish. 

The chipping sparrow departs from the usual 
sparrow fashion, by nesting frequently in high 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

CHIPPING SPARROW 
The chummy little "Chippy" of the roadside. 

trees, though he does not despise a low bush in 
the garden. The eggs are speckled greenish- 
blue. These birds are supposed to migrate in 
October, though often during a mild winter some 
of them remain. Winter quarters are in the Gulf 
States and Mexico. 

THE CANADA SPARROW 

There is a larger edition of the chipping spar- 
row present with us in the winter. We call him 
the winter chippy, but he is known at the North, 



THE SPARROW FAMILY 67 

where he nests, as the Canada Sparrow. Some 
misguided ornithologist of our own land named 
him the tree sparrow. Though why he did so 
is a mystery. They seem to care nothing for 
trees, excepting the evergreen, which they use 
for shelter at night and during storms. An old 
weed stalk, whose seed pods are well filled, is 
their delight. They are brisk, twittering little 
fellows, with an oft repeated call which sounds 
much like "Too-la-it! too-ld-it!" 

THE ENGLISH SPARROW 

"Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!" Every one knows 
the cry, now plaintive and querulous, now saucy 
and pugnacious, and many people consider the 
English sparrow as an even cheaper fellow than 
he proclaims himself. He is a wicked little chap 
with a nasty temper and so many disagreeable 
habits, that it is not to be wondered at that some 
people almost hate the name "sparrow." You 
know his gray crown, bordered by a reddish- 
brown stripe just over the eye, and the black spot 
on his breast. The female is dressed in didl 
grays without the chestnut markings and black 
spots and is slightly smaller than the male. 

You know them both, of course, and very prob- 
ably you do not know anything good about them, 
either, do you? But truly the English sparrow 
is more sinned against than sinning. We dub 



68 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

him a "little ruffian in feathers," and we have no 
patience with his quarrelsome, thieving habits. 
Boys especially delight in shying stones at him, 
and in making him the target for their air-rifles. 
And they have reason: his presence about our 
homes drives away more desirable bird neighbors. 
For no self-respecting bird will associate with 
him, and no feathered songster's nest is safe in 
his vicinity. He is a house-breaker and a can- 
nibal, and likes on occasion to make a meal of his 
neighbors' eggs and babies. jNTor will he eat cat- 
erpillars and beetles, — food which all good birds 
should devour with vim. He rouses our ire by 
his tireless determination and persistence to build 
his bulky nest in our porches, and in every odd 
corner and cranny about the building. And such 
a host of sticks and grasses as one pair of these 
pests can carry in an hour! Also, the English 
sparrow is on the black list of the farmers, gar- 
deners and orchard men. They say he does con- 
siderable damage to growing crops and to grain 
in the shock or bin. And we must own that this 
is true. 

But black as his record is, the English sparrow 
has one redeeming feature which may outweigh 
some of his faults. He is an industrious little 
scavenger of our cities and villages. We find 
him always in the dirtiest, most unsanitary places. 
Indeed, a trip down an unkept alley where refuse 



THE SPARROW FAMILY 69 

is found will prove beyond a doubt that such a 
place is his common eating ground. Here in the 
grime and the filth the common house fly breeds 
by the million. And here in the very thickest of 
the larvae works the English sparrow, gobbling 
up the flies in all their stages of growth. 

"His destruction of this pest alone," says one 
who pleads his cause, "will more than overbal- 
ance, from the standpoint of health, all the harm 
that he may do in minor ways. It may be safely 
said that one sparrow is worth many hundred 
sheets of 'fly paper.' After considering care- 
fully all his habits, we will have to conclude that 
he increases manifold the sanitary conditions by 
destroying decaying animal and vegetable mat- 
ter. He is to refuse matter, flies and many 
larvae what boiling w r ater is to any form of bac- 
teria or germs." 

The English sparrow, as his name indicates, 
came to us from England. About seventy years 
ago a few pairs were brought over seas and liber- 
ated in our land, under the mistaken idea that 
they would aid in destroying the hosts of cater- 
pillars and beetles w T hich were then waging a war 
all their own. Of course, the doughty little Eng- 
lish "fighters" utterly refused to take a hand. 
But they did not mope and pine. They settled 
down quietly to adapt their hardy little selves 
to their new surroundings, and they succeeded 



70 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

so well that in a few years our government was 
forced to consider seriously "the English spar- 
row pest." 

No birds multiply more swiftly than these 
"audacious little gamins." Indeed, a bulletin is- 
sued by the Department of Agriculture shows 
that the offspring of a single pair of English 
sparrows might easily amount to upwards of 
two hundred and eighty billion birds in ten years ! 



THE FIXC II ES 

THE Finch family is the Smith family of 
birddom. Indeed, so numerous is it, that 
it comprises about one-seventh of the bird 
world. It has almost seemed as though any bird 
were called "a finch," when it didn't seem to 
claim kin anywhere else. The Finch tribe in- 
cludes all the sparrows, the redpolls and cross- 
bills, the merry little goldfinch, our entrancing 
grosbeak songsters, the buntings, the j uncos, 
snowflakes, and che winks. 

In this book we have not tried to keep all the 
Finch kin together, but have divided them into 
groups, for ease of reference. But there are two 
or three Finches that we can become acquainted 
with here. 

THE GOLDFINCH 

The goldfinch has been given a variety of 
names, chief among them being that of thistle 
bird and yellowbird. He is a bright, cheery, 
sociable fellow and loves the orchard and the 
lawn, but a row of sunflowers or an old field 
overgrown with mullen and thistle" i.s a paradise 
to him. The male is bright yellow with a black 

71 



72 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

crown, frontlet, wings and tail. His little mate 
is brownish-olive above and yellowish- white be- 
neath. Perhaps you may have seen them daintily 
picking a lunch from the fluffy seeds of the 
thistle blossoms. They are stocky little birds 
about five inches long. 

There is an old fable about the origin of the 
goldfinch. It is said that a hemlock and the 
wind loved a sunbeam. She was afraid of the 
wind because he was so wild and boisterous, and 
so hid in the cool shade near the heart of the hem- 
lock. The wind came with great force and tore 
her away and many shadows came with her. The 
sun was sorry for his little child and pitied her 
grief at being taken from the hemlock. "She 
shall be free," he said. So he changed the little 
sunbeam into a beautiful yellow bird and wove 
it a crown and tinged its wings and tail with the 
black shadows. Then the bird flew away to the 
hemlock and when the wind came sighing and 
singing softly and begging to be forgiven, it not 
only forgave, but learned the wind's delicious, 
dreamy love song to sing when it went wooing a 
mate of its own. 

The goldfinch is a gay cavalier and courts his 
mate long and joyously. His song is wild and 
sweet, a very rapture of happiness, and he sings 
it until about the first of September, or until the 
busy care of his family sobers and quiets ]aim. 



THE FINCHES 73 

The birds are very sociable and in early summer 
are usually to be found in flocks. When nesting, 
they like to build near each other, and the gentle- 
men seem to have clubs which they attend quite 
regularly while the ladies are busy with house- 
hold cares. They meet and fly airily over the 
tree tops, or assemble and sing their very best 
love songs for the benefit of their listening mates, 
and sometimes fly away to a nearby pool to have 
a merry, refreshing splash. The goldfinch flies 
with a long, bounding, graceful, dipping motion, 
very pleasing to watch. They twitter incessantly 
while on the wing. 

Sometimes the goldfinch's nest is not even made 
until many other birds are preparing to fly away 
to the south. They set up housekeeping late 
because of the food supply which is most plenti- 
ful at this time, and which makes the labor of 
feeding the hungry brood easier. Madame Gold- 
finch is a very skillful architect. She chooses a 
crotch in a fruit, or shade tree, about twenty feet 
from the ground, and usually near a dwelling. 
Here she securely mats and weaves a broad 
brimmed, deeply hollowed nest of vegetable down 
and plant fibers and lines it with a plentiful sup- 
ply of thistle down. She lays from four to six 
pale-blue eggs, and sits on them for a period of 
two weeks. 

In the late fall, the goldfinch changes his gay 



74 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

summer suit, which has become considerably 
faded and worn by his late arduous duties, and 
comes forth in such a sober Puritan dress that 
even his old friends do not know him. He is a 
combination of reddish-drab and soiled brownish- 
white with faint yellow head. But he has not 
lost his cheerful, sunny disposition, and picks out 
a neglected corner of the old garden for a winter 
home, Here when the snow lies deepest he may 
be seen flitting happily about the seed-laden 
weeds, searching for his meager dinner and call- 
ing out a cheery "ker-chee, chee, chee." 

The goldfinch is an ideal bird citizen. He is 
loyal and independent. His merry ways and 
sweet disposition are good antidotes for discon- 
tent. He is invaluable to mankind because of 
his great service in destroying the seeds of noxious 
plants, such as the dandelion, thistle, and pig 
weed. He is one of the most beautiful and 
charming of all our bird neighbors. 

Indeed, Mr. and Mrs. Goldfinch are singu- 
larly happy little birds, and everywhere they 
carry sunshine as bright as their own little breasts, 
thus fulfilling the request of Mother Nature that 
they give freely to the world of their golden 
glory. As they flit through the air their song is 
as sweet as any caged canary's. It is a fitting 
accompaniment of blossom time and Maying 



THE FINCHES 



75 



days. And oh how joyous the song, when the 
little ones arrive! There .are some who insist 
that the proud father calls "baby! ba-bee!" in a 
perfect ecstasy. 

"When he flies in the blue sky he seems like a 
visible laugh, for nobody can see the dash lie 
makes and not smile. Many a breaking heart 




0^-^^k^ 



r% 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

GOLDFINCH 
.V dashing little fellow with a fine eanary-like song. 

has been made less sad by sight of him," says one 
observer. It would be hard indeed to keep from 
feeling more cheerful after meeting the bright 
flash of wing, and hearing the pleasing note of 
the goldfinch. 



76 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

No bird of North America has a more exten- 
sive range than the goldfinch. It nests from the 
Gulf States to the fur countries, migrating in May 
and September. Winter quarters are in the 
southern part of our country, but if the weather 
is too severe they journey into South America, 
traveling in twos and threes, or in flocks, as 
fancy suits, often flying at night and feeding by 
day. 

THE PURPLE FINCH 

If your home is in the Middle or New Eng- 
land states, or perchance in the great pine belt 
of our Western section, no doubt the purple 
finch is as familiar to you as the robin. Perched 
in the tall top of a spreading elm or shadowy 
spruce, his gay raspberry-colored suit glints with 
purplish tints, and his throat swells with a burst 
of melody that seems to defy all competition. 
Surely never was there a finer bird ! And so con- 
fident is he of this fact that you may come quite 
near to attend his concert. Ravishingly sweet 
and mellow it is, with little trills and warbles like 
the canary, gradually rising and growing into a 
fine crescendo of love and happiness. And if, 
mayhap, there is a little grayish-olive sweetheart 
hiding somewhere beneath the leaves, all the art 
of harmony seems his to command. A joyous, 
living music-box he is in very truth, and it is im- 



THE FINCHES 11 

possible for his little lady-love to resist a suitor so 
handsomely dressed, so ardent and tender, and so 
delieiouslv melodious. 




Courtesy of Am. Hns. Nat. Hist. 

PURPLE FINCH 
A joyous living music-box he is in very truth. 

Soon there is a flat, grassy nest, lined with 
horsehair, in the hedge or in some low garden 
tree, and the purple songster fairly bubbles with 



78 LITTLE FRIENDS IN LEATHERS 

happiness as one by one five green eggs make up 
its furnishings. The mother bird has a gentle 
confidence in all mankind, perhaps because her 
spouse is so fearless and free. If you are care- 
ful, you may go near enough almost to touch her 
before she takes alarm, and once off she is no 
nervous scatter-brain. She feels sure you mean 
no harm. Probably she has never seen caged 
purple finches, or if she has their common name 
of purple linnet deceives her. She does not 
dream these beautiful singers are her own kin, 
taken from the nest when young and reared in 
captivity ! 

Sometimes the adult male birds are captured 
and put in cages. But they usually prove a dis- 
appointment. Sick with sorrow at their lot, the 
birds moult into the dull color of the females and 
pine in silence, from which they rouse' only to 
peck rebelliously at the hand which seeks to tame 
them. 

Baby male purple finches are not purple at all. 
Until their second year they wear sober spar- 
rowy-fashioned suits like their mother. It is 
easy enough, however, to know them from their 
sparrow cousins by their heavy, rounded bills, 
tufted with feathers at the base, and by their 
forked tails. 

The finches are devoted parents. But their 
duties are over by the first of October, and they 



THE FINCHES 79 

join groups of their kin for gay picnic parties in 
the distant orchards and woods. Gone now is 
their joyous song, but yet the males are seldom 
silent. They keep up a little low warble, as 
though humming happily to themselves, while 
they range about in search of food. 

Many people have the notion that these birds 
do considerable damage to fruit blossoms and 
leaf buds. The truth is, however, that insects 
and seeds constitute their food in summer, and 
berries in winter. It is only when reduced to 
necessity that they feed upon the buds, and then 
those which are sweet and sticky, like the elm and 
the young willow capsules, are their favorites. 
They do eat greedily of the stamens in beech and 
fruit-tree blossoms. But surely to a neighbor so 
sweet and interesting we may spare some of these 
without grudging! The birds are fond, too, of 
sun-flower and other oily seeds, and they are 
often foumd making a happy lunch in the fall 
garden. 

THE CHEW INK 

The chew'ink is a bird which really should have 
more lengthy mention in our book, and perhaps 
no place is more fitting than here with its near 
kin, the purple finches. The chewink frequents 
the borders of sloughs and brushy pastures, and 
at first note, you might perhaps mistake this in- 



80 LITTLE FRIENDS IN LEATHERS 

dustrious little grubber for a robin. Indeed, 
ground robin is its most common name. But, if 
you look closely, you will see that it is smaller and 
darker in color than our familiar garden friend, 
with black in its coat instead of tawny brown, 
and with the bill and general carriage of the 
finch. 

The female is smaller than her happy, rich- 
voiced spouse. She builds her nest in a sunken 
place on the ground, and then foolishly hides it 
with twigs and leaves to the peril of the dusty 
white speckled eggs and the helpless fledglings 
which are often crushed beneath even the most 
careful foot. 

When frightened, the chewink rises from the 
ground with an odd little call, towlxick, to-ivhick, 
to-tvlicc! In s-ome localities this call note gives 
to the bird the name of towhee bunting. In the 
far South a white-eyed species is called the grasel, 
and it is alas! much fancied as a "pleasant dish 
to set before the king." 

THE INDIGO BUNTING 

The indigo bunting, or indigo bird, is a cousin 
to the sparrows and has many sparrow-like 
traits. Indeed, he has a sparrow-like wife! If 
you should chance to see her in the bushes, nine 
times out of ten you would pass her by as a spar- 
row, without ever noticing the blue glint of her 



THE FINCHES 81 

shoulders and tail. But not so her mate! You 
could not pass him without instantly recogniz- 
ing him and pausing to admire his beautiful deep 
blue color, which glints almost to green in the 
sunlight. He is called "the blue air-flower." 
There is a pretty legend about him which some 
one has aptly told in the following lines: 

When Mother Nature with j^lanting was through, 

There was left of Spring's own color blue 

Enough to fashion a flower, whose hue 

Should be richer than all, and as fair; 

So she tossed the bright flower high up in the air, 

Saying: "So many blue flowers grow everywhere, 

Let this pretty one be a bird !" 

In the fall the indigo bunting wears a traveling 
coat as dull as his mate's. They winter in Cen- 
tral America and Mexico, coming back to us in 
May. All through the summer, even in the heat 
of the longest August days, the male bird sings 
his sweet songs. He has a fashion of launching 
into a grand chorus and then dwindling down 
until his hearers speculate as to whether he has 
neglected to breathe deeply, or has changed his 
mind, or has just felt too lazy to finish! Almost 
any day, dwellers in the Eastern States may meet 
him in the garden, the clover field, by the road- 
side, and in the woodland clearing — anywhere, 
in fact, where there are plenty of small insects 
and seeds. In Iowa, the indigo bird is a rare oc- 



82 



LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 



currence, but we have met him a few times in 
country rambles. 

Mrs. Indigo is never very much in evidence. 
While her mate is perched on a telegraph pole, 
or some high vantage point, singing all the long 





Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

INDIGO BUNTING 
Like a blue flower which was given wings and tossed into the sky. 

day through, she is carefully attending to her 
household duties in some screening thicket. She 
attracts no attention; her dusky color and quiet 
manner never draws any one to her carefully 
hidden nest. Her husband, too, is most discreet. 
He often visits the nest to see how matters are 



THE FINCHES 83 

progressing, but so stealthily that no one could 
follow him. 

The nest is built of grass, leaves, downy seeds, 
and fine roots, and lined with fine grass and hair. 
It is usually plaeed near the ground in low bushes 
or weeds, a favorite location being in an old 
brushy pasture. If in a bush, the nest is securely 
placed in a crotch ; if built in the weeds, it is care- 
fully hung from the stem with no support be- 
neath. Four or five light blue eggs, splotched on 
the larger end with purple, are objects of special 
care. The eggs are hatched in ten days, and in 
a surprisingly short time the little birdies are 
ready to leave the nest and hide away among the 
tangled vines and bushes. 



THE GROSBEAKS 

THE grosbeaks are among our most de- 
lightful bird friends. They belong to 
the great Finch family, and are cousins 
of the sparrows. They have gay coats and beau- 
tiful voices, and everybody who knows them loves 
them. There are five branches in the family 
tree, but we shall introduce you to but two of 
these — the cardinal grosbeak, or Virginian night- 
ingale, and the rose-breasted grosbeak. 

THE CARDINAL 

The cardinal is the most gorgeous member of 
his family, and his great crest proclaims him king 
of the clan, or prince of the woodland church. 
His coat is such a brilliant red that it is almost 
scarlet. He is nearly nine inches long. He 
wears a funny patch of black on his face, that 
looks for all the world like a mask. Some people 
say that it is one, and of course, there is a story 
about it! It seems that a long time ago the 
cardinals had gray faces and gray bills. But 
they used to steal currants from a helpless old 
man who lived up in the mountains. He begged 
the gods to help him, and they punished the birds 

84 



■s : 




' "9 f S' 



CARDINAL 
Orcier-PASSERES Family-FRiNG.LL.n^ 

Genus— Card, nal.s Species— cardinalis 

National Association of Audubon Societies 



THE GROSBEAKS 85 

by dyeing their beaks red and staining their faces 
black ! This was not very much of a punishment, 
but it satisfied the old man. He thought the 
birds would bear their badge of punishment for 
life, and they have. But, no doubt, they have 
done a great deal of twittering about it! You 
see now they can steal berries and no one be a 
whit the wiser, for the stain does not show! 

My acquaintance with the cardinal grosbeak 
began long ago, when my uncle, on returning 
from a trip to the Southland, brought two red 
birds in a cage to his little daughter. 

''They are Virginia nightingales," he ex- 
plained, "and the most delightful singers. The 
boy who sold them to me said they took kindly 
to captivity. I hope you may enjoy them as 
much as I have their kin for the past six weeks. 
You have often wished for a canary, and I 
thought these would be much nicer. All your 
little friends will be wanting you to raise them a 
pair, and they will make lovely birthday and 
Christmas gifts." 

Splendid ! I was to have the first birdies, and 
most bountifully did we provide nest-building 
material. But the birds did not deign to notice 
it ! We were in despair. Of what did they build 
anyway ? Uncle did not know, and there was no 
wealth of bird books then to supply information. 
So finally we made a nest ourselves and fastened 



86 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

it securely in the cage — a nest which should have 
delighted any bird's heart. 

But our birds did not care for it. Indeed, it 
seemed to make them despondent. They began 
to droop and were far from the happy birds we 
expected them to be. Finally the smallest one, 
the one we thought was the female, died. We 
had a very weepy funeral, and then called uncle 
for council. Could we not send South for a 
mate for Cardy — one that he might like better? 

Uncle shook his head discouraginglv. He did 
not know where to send, lie had not kept the boy's 
address, the birds were expensive, and anyway he 
doubted if the lad's information had been correct. 
The birds had been so different from those he had 
admired. He thought we had better let Cardy 
go. Xo doubt he would make his home in the 
garden and be much happier. 

So we hung the cage in the topmost boughs of 
an apple tree and opened wide the door. How 
happy Cardy was when he discovered his free- 
dom! How gleefully his rich, high-whistled 
cheo-cheo-cheo-cheo rang out! We listened in 
delight, and all the birdies round gathered and 
stared in amazement. From whence had come 
this gay-colored stranger ? The catbirds got real 
fussy and screamed with envy, and we were 
forced to shy rocks at a coirple of kingbirds who 
showed fight. 



THE GROSBEAKS 87 

On the third morning Cardy was gone. Prob- 
ably that Unseen Presence which guides little 
birds whispered to him that far away to the south 
was a little mate longing for him. I have often 
wondered about him, and about the boy who 
caged him. Did he know and do you know what 
I learned years later — that we had two poor, lone- 
some bachelor birds paired? Xo wonder the 
sight of that nest made them sad! 

The female redbird, or cardinal grosbeak, is 
not red at all. She is a yellowish-brown, spar- 
rowy bird, and in nesting time you have to look 
sharp to find her. The favorite nesting site is in 
a holly, laurel, or other evergreen shrub, near a 
field of grain or a berry patch, There are two or 
three pale-gray, brown-marked eggs in the loose, 
bulky nest. Baby red birds are not red either; 
they look like their mother. They are safer in 
somber colorings. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are both singers. Mrs. 
Cardinal has a soft voice, clear and sweet as a tiny 
silver bell. The male bird's song is a clear, loud 
whistle. These birds are seldom seen north of 
the Ohio River. In the latitude of Arkansas 
they are resident birds, coming close about the 
house in winter. Can you imagine anything 
more cheery on a gloomy day than a couple of 
redbirds in a cedar tree? They seem to lighten 
up the whole landscape. 



88 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 

The rose-breasted grosbeak is a bird of the gar- 
den — if the garden happens to be north of the 
Ohio River and east of Kansas and Xebraska. 
He is a beautiful songster, and one of the few 
birds that sing at night. He seems to love to 
warble softly to himself in the bright moonlight. 

This grosbeak is a trifle larger than his cousin, 
cardinal. He wears a coat of white and black 
which is somber enough. But oh, the handsome 
rose-colored shield on his breast and his pretty 
rose-colored wing linings ! There is a story about 
these. It seems that a much loved robin died, and 
for some reason it was necessary to have the 
funeral after dark. But no bird could be found 
to sing. They all said the night air hurt their 
throats, and they positively could not make a 
sound. Then some one thought of the grosbeak, 
and a messenger was hurried for him. He came 
at once and sang most feelingly, touching the 
hearts of all his hearers save one, a wicked night 
owl, who h'ad slipped in among the mourners. 
This jealous creature grabbed the poor grosbeak 
by the breast, just as the last note left his throat, 
and tore out a whole handful of feathers ! 

Imagine what a scene there was! The poor 
birdies were all frightened half out of their wits. 
They cried and screamed until a couple of king- 



THE GROSBEAKS 89 

bird watchmen came hurrying up. These brave 
fellows ilew at the old owl, beak and claw, and 
he was driven off in a great hurry. Then they 
hastened down to the garden and brought up 
great beakfuls of rose petals. These they plas- 
tered all over the poor grosbeak's wounded breast 
and torn wing linings. Just then a fairy came 
up out of the dell. She was so pleased with the 
grosbeak's gay appearance, that she waved her 
wand and declared that he should wear the rose 
colors forevermore. 

Mrs. Rose-breast is soberly dressed in a brown- 
ish, sparrow-like costume, with light yellow wing- 
linings. She has a heavy brown beak. When 
any danger threatens she hides among the leafy 
branches and leaves her brave spouse to protect 
the home as well as he can. The nest is a coarse, 
rude affair built in a thorn bush or low tree. 
Both birds help to make it, and after the three 
or four eggs are laid, Mr. Grosbeak takes his 
turn at the hatching-out process. When not 
lightening his little wife's burdens by occupying 
the nest, he hovers near and cheers her with rap- 
turous outbursts of song. He has a very amiable 
and happy disposition and never quarrels or med- 
dles, though he is quick to defend his own rights. 
A friend says that he is just as quick to defend 
his neighbors' home as his own, and tells the fol- 
lowing story as proof. Two bird families, the 



90 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

robin and the grosbeak, nested in a neighborly 
fashion in an apple tree near his window. One 
day when the robins were away and the grosbeak 
was singing sweetly to his brooding mate, a thiev- 
ing jay sneaked through the branches and began 
to pillage the robin's home. The song died on 
the grosbeak's lips, and he attacked Mr. Jay 
tooth and nail, fairly making the blue feathers 
fly, until the thief flew away, screaming with 
terror. 

In some communities the rose-breasted gros- 
beak is called the potato-bug bird, on account of 
his love for this pest. He is also fond of many 
other noxious insects. The vegetable diet is 
made up of seeds and the buds and blossoms of 
forest trees. The only charge that can be 
brought against him is that he is fond of stealing 
green peas. But surely he helps the gardener 
enough to more than pay for the peas, and if he 
didn't, who would not give him all the peas he 
could eat in exchange for the glorious songs that 
he sings? 

Of all the bird neighbors in our northern gar- 
den, I think we liked the rose-breast best. He 
gave us some beautiful evening songs. Indeed, 
he sang almost all the time, until after the second 
lot of birdies were hatched. And we could al- 
ways hear his voice high above the voices of all the 
other birds. Sometimes we used to think that 



Till: GROSBEAKS 



91 



he and the Baltimore oriole were trying to see 
which could out do the other! 

THE BLUE GROSBEAK 

Down Sou tli they have another member of the 
Grosbeak family — the blue grosbeak, familiarly 
known as "blue pop." Occasionally he wanders 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

BLUE GROSBEAK 
The "country cousin" of the Grosbeak family. 

north along the Atlantic Coast, as far as Maine; 
but mostly he stays around the Gulf. He finds 
better pickings there. 

He is of so dark a shade of blue as almost to 
be black — the wings and tail especially dark and 
tipped with cinnamon. He is nearly eight inches 
long. 



92 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

The blue grosbeak is not so well-known as his 
relatives. He may be called their country 
cousin, keeping house very quietly in remote 
places. Even his song is a weaker effort than 
that of Cousin Rosebreast. But he is a useful 
member of society, nevertheless, eating large 
quantities of injurious insects. 




ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK 

(Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male) 

Order— Passeres Family— Fr>ngillid,e 

Genus— Zamelodia Species— it idovici ana 

National Association of Auclubon Societies 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 



B 



4 T^LACKBIRDS!" you say. "Hmm! 
Blackbirds!" and you are about to pass 
this chapter by. But don't do it! 
Why, my dear, the blackbird family includes 
som^. of our most interesting bird friends. The 
meadow-lark, the oriole, and the bobolink belong 
in the family tree. So, too, does that ill-famed 
bird of the pastures, the cowbird. He is the 
black sheep of the family. But, black as he has 
been painted, there is considerable good about 
him. We shall tell you about this later. 

The blackbird family forms the connecting 
link between the crows and the finches. With 
the exception of the meadow-lark, the male birds 
have either black plumage, or some brilliant color 
combined with black, for summer wear. The fe- 
males are dressed differently. The blackbird 
family are ground-gleaners, and, therefore, have 
good strong feet. Their diet consists of seeds 
and insects. The bobolink and cowbird feed al- 
most wholly upon seeds, and their conical bills 
are shorter than those of the insect-loving mem- 
bers of the family. Xow let us talk about some 
of these birds. 

93 



94 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 



THE GRACKLE 

This is the right name for the true blackbird. 
There are two kinds — the bronzed and purple 
grackles. They are large birds — larger than the 
robin — and sometimes are over a foot long. 
They are so well known that they scarcely need 
an introduction. However, sometimes one spe- 
cies is confused with the other. The purple 
grackle, or crow blackbird, is dressed in a 
"changeable" black suit in which blue, green, 
copper, and metallic violet tints prevail in bars. 
He lias a bright vellow eve. and tail much longer 
than his wings. The bronzed grackle. as his 
name indicates, differs from his cousin in plum- 
age, being a beautiful bronzed-black, without 
bars. They are much alike in habits. The 
bronzed grackle has a harsher, louder call note 
than the purple grackle, and is a more westerly 
bird. You know Lowell says: 

"Fust come the blackbirds clatterin in tall trees 

And settlin' things in windy Congresses; 
Queer politicians, though, for I'll be skinned 
If all on 'em don't head agin' the wind!" 

What a noise they make! Every one knows 
their cracked, wheezy whistle, when a whole flock 
of them gathers in the tree top and tries to forget 
that thev are close kin to the crow and to sing like 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 95 

other birds. The blackbirds migrate in great 
flocks, sometimes numbering thousands. They 
are among the first to come in early spring, and 
there is something decidedly cheerful about their 
"wheel-barrow chorus," as some one has dubbed 
their efforts at song. 

A wise person who knows a great deal about 
all sorts of birds says that the blackbirds not only 
have congresses, and social meetings where each 
one prattles his best story, sings his best song, 
and makes his best speech, but that they often 
have a trial bv jurv. He says that he once 
watched a flock of blackbirds try three prisoners. 
He did not know what the rascals had done. But 
it must have been something very mean. Be- 
cause you know the blackbirds think it is all 
right for members of their family to steal corn 
and to rob other birds' nests and even to eat their 
neighbors' birdlings! But whatever they had 
done, they were very much frightened and 
ashamed and huddled together with their heads 
down. The trial lasted an hour, and then the 
whole court fell upon the prisoners and killed 
them! 

Thief and cannibal though he sometimes is, 
the blackbird must have some good about him, 
for his little mate loves him dearly. Perhaps it 
is because he is nearly always bright and cheer- 
ful. The blackbirds live in flocks and do not 



96 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

"neighbor" with other birds. They build rough- 
looking nests, which are more carefully made than 
one would think. Mrs. Blackbird works quickly, 
but she is careful that each straw and stick, which 
she and her husband bring, is put in right and 
that the mud lining is of just the right thickness. 
The eggs vary in color and marking, being a 
soiled shade of blue or bluish-green, curiously 
marked and streaked with brown. 

THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 

"O-ka-lee! O-ka-lee!" This is the song-note 
and jubilee call of the cheery redwing. He lives 
near the marsh or sl'ough, and has a special liking 
for a willow hedge. No doubt you have often 
taken note of his black coat and his pretty scarlet 
shoulders edged with yellow. He is a social 
chap, and is seldom seen without a company of 
his kin or other bird neighbors; for this reason he 
is often spoken of as "the bird of society." He 
has a number of names, among them being red- 
winged oriole, swamp black-bird, and red-winged 
starling. 

If you chance to walk down by the willow 
hedge where he is keeping careful guard of the 
three or four nests where his frowsy wives are 
brooding, he will stop you with an excited cry. 
It sounds like "chut? chuck?" But, no doubt, 
he means "What do you want?" If you do not 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 97 

satisfy him, he gives out a shrill, full call of alarm. 
Then his wives come out and join in giving you 
a good round scolding! 

Baby redwings are brought up on insects, and 
such hosts of them as it takes ! The parents are 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 
A sociable chap who likes to live in the swamps. 

kept busy from early till late, so the redwings are 
valuable neighbors. They have one fault which 
their farmer friends find hard to forgive. They 
like to regale themselves with green corn, and fre- 
quently do considerable damage when the corn 
is in the milk. Then, too, they have a provoking 
habit of gathering in the tree tops and holding 
a jubilee after they have done their worst ! Small 
wonder that the farmer is often driven into level- 



98 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

ing his gun at them! But, if he stops to think it 
over, he smiles at their merrymaking and gives 
them the freedom of the fields. Xo doubt the 
insects which they have killed would have made 
far greater ravages in the corn. 

THE MEADOW-LARK 

The meadow-lark is a handsome fellow; you 
are sure to fall in love with him on sight. He is 
a large chestnut brown bird, with a pretty buff 
collarette, and a big black crescent on his buff 
vest. There is a legend about this crescent, of 
course. It seems that ages and ages ago the 
larks used to sing with their breasts leaning 
against the moon. At last the gods grew 
alarmed and feared that the birds might topple 
the moon over, so they bade them fly away and 
lean no more. The crescent is the shadow cast 
by the moon on their dainty breasts. 

Perhaps you may already have seen the 
meadow-lark. Do you remember early in 
March, before there was any signs of spring, the 
bird that sat up on the telephone wire and called 
out so cheerily, "Spring o the year! Spring o 
the year!" That was the meadow-lark. And 
how honest and true his cry seemed, though it 
was hard to believe him when all out doors seemed 
so dreary ! But he kept happily at it : "Spring 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 



99 



o 3 the year! Spring o 3 the year!" until his prom- 
ise really came true. 

At different times of the year, the meadow- 
lark seems to say different things, though there is 











* -mm 




I \ 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

MEADOW-LARK 
He has a note of gladness in his song. 

always the same number of notes in his call. 
Why, if you will believe me, once when we were 
picking cherries a meadow-lark came and sat in 
a neighboring tree top and called out over and 



100 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

over, as plainly as could be, "Dont take 3 em all! 
Dont take 'em alir Just the other day we read 
of a meadow-lark calling out to a young man, 
"All things — all things — come round to him — to 
him — who will but wait!" Perhaps he may say 
something quite different to you, if you will 
take the trouble to call upon him. You will find 
him at home in the pasture and meadow. Pos- 
sibly you may chance to catch him on a fence post 
pouring out his heart to his dainty little mate as 
she broods in the grass. 

But you will have to keep your eyes open if 
you see Mrs. Meadow-lark, for she is very much 
the color of the grasses about her. Then, too, 
the nest is carefully hidden under an arch of 
timothy. So you may pass very close indeed and 
not see it, unless the frightened little mother 
takes alarm. And even then perhaps you may 
not find the nest, for there is often a winding 
pathway, cleverly covered over, which leads to 
the nest, and the bird may escape by this, thus 
leading you away from the precious spot in the 
very beginning of your search. 

The white-speckled eggs and helpless little 
birdies are terribly preyed upon by the field mice 
and snakes, and the old birds have a thrilling time 
raising two or three broods each season. Unless 
the winter is very severe, some of the meadow- 
larks are quite apt to spend the winter with us, 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 101 

but one has to look twice to know them, as their 
winter coat is only a dim, grayish-brown copy of 
their summer glory. 

It is impossible to reckon the great amount of 
good the meadow-larks do in a single season, 
while searching for their food among the various 
insects which prey upon the roots of grasses and 
grain. Seventy-three per cent, of their food is 
insects, the favorites being crickets, grasshoppers, 
and beetles. The seed diet is said to be mostly 
noxious weeds. 

THE ORIOLES 

I hope you know the orioles. They are such 
delightful little friends. The family numbers 
about fifty members, but only three are well- 
known in our country — the Baltimore oriole, the 
orchard oriole, and the Bullock oriole. 

Xo bird is more useful than the oriole. He is 
death to all sorts of beetles, spiders, caterpillars, 
worms, plant-lice, and other pests which prey 
upon the foliage of plants. And he prefers a 
meat diet almost exclusively, taking only about 
sixteen per cent, of his daily fare in vegetables, 
so that he is of great service to farmers and gar- 
deners in destroying harmful insects. 

The name oriole is said to mean "golden glory." 
No doubt it was given to these birds because of 
their rich voices. Thev have a beautiful, merry 



102 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

whistle, so delightful that once heard it is never 
forgotten. The Baltimore oriole, it is claimed, 
got his special name from Lord Baltimore him- 
self. But perhaps you have never heard of him. 
He was a great man who came from over the sea 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

BALTIMORE ORIOLE 
A beautiful bird whose song is a delight, whose nest is a miracle. 

to build in our free land a home for his Roman 
Catholic friends. The party settled in Mary- 
land, and shortly after their arrival were charmed 
with the cheery whistle of a number of beautiful 
birds. These birds wore the colors of Lord Bal- 
timore's own family — orange and black. He 
was delighted with them and knew them for ori- 
oles, but he felt quite sure that no one had yet 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 103 

given them a name, so he proudly gave them his 
own. 

Other people also have named the Baltimore 
oriole. They call him the golden oriole, the Eng- 
lish robin, the golden robin, the hang-nest, and 
the fire-bird. Which name do you think .suits 
him best ? 

I wonder that some one has not dubbed him 
the "Peter bird." Have you not heard him call- 
ing over and over, "Peter, Peter"? Sometimes 
he says, "Clara, Peter." Just what does he 
mean? Perhaps his own name is Peter, and he 
wishes to let his little urate, Clara, know that he 
is near, keeping careful watch for enemies of 
every sort. 

The Baltimore oriole has a funny call early in 
the morning. The little boy at our house used 
to say that he said "Little boy, you better get up! 
Little boy, you better get up!" And he was so 
cheery and insistent about it that the boy just 
had to go out and see what he wanted. Then, 
ten to one, Mr. Baltimore would whistle, "Little 
boy, you better watch out! Little boy, you bet- 
ter w^atch out!" 

The Baltimore oriole is pretty well distributed 
over the United States east of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. He is a beautiful fellow, not quite so 
large as the robin, dressed in a gay suit of orange 
and black. There are white spots and edgings 



104 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

on his black wings, and his black tail quills are 
tipped with yellow. You cannot mistake him, 
but Mrs. Baltimore is not so easy to identify. 
She is very like half a dozen other quiet mother 
birds that have brilliant husbands. Her coat 
is yellowish-olive, with brown, white-trimmed 
wings, and a yellowish-brown tail. She is very 
shy, and slips about quietly under the screening 
leaves. Tlie best way to make sure of her is to 
trail her to her nest, and you will have to be 
pretty clever to do it! 

The p:oet Lowell gives us a pretty picture of 
the oriole building hi'S home : 

Hush ! 'tis he ! 

My Oriole, my glance of summer fire 

Is come at last, and, ever on the watch 

Twitches the pack-thread I had lightly wound 

Around the bough to help his house-keeping, — 

Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck, 

Yet fearing me, who laid it in his way, 

Heave ho ! Heave ho ! he whistles as the twine 

Slackens its hold. Once more now ! and a flash 

Lightens across the sunlight to the elm 

Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt. 

You can never mistake the Baltimore oriole's 
nest, for no other bird builds one like it. It is 
a dainty, swinging pouch or cradle, about seven 
inches deep, and so firmly fastened that no mat- 
ter how ha.rd the winds blow it never comes down. 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 105 

And it is a miracle of weaver's art! How does 
the little bird manage with nothing but her bill 
— slender and needle-like though it is? Why, 
there is not a man or woman in the whole country 
who could do such a thing with only one tool! 
And of such odds and ends, too — bits of plant 
fiber, string, and horse hair, carefully lined with 
down and wool. The work is done almost en- 
tirely by the female, who clings to the structure 
with her sharp toes, and works always from be- 
low, poking the thread up and pulling it down 
through the width of two or three rounds in 
order to make it solid. The eggs are bluish- 
white, all streaked and marked with brown. 

West of the Rocky Mountains, the Bullock 
oriole takes the place of our friend Baltimore. 
The birds are very much alike, save that the 
Bullock oriole is much duller in plumage. Fruit- 
growers along the Pacific slope value these birds 
highly because of their strong liking for the black 
olive scale, the leaf and tree hoppers, and the 
larvae of the coddling moth. 

The orchard oriole is not nearly so well known 
as the Baltimore oriole, though he has much the 
same range; perhaps this is because he is more 
sober in coloring and considerably shyer. His 
head, throat, back, wings, and tail are jet black, 
with some tiny whitish-yellow markings on the 
wings and tail. The rest of his dainty body is 



106 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

bright chestnut or reddish-brown. And, oh, 
what a brimming load of song he carries! His 
notes come so fast that they fairly tumble over 
one another. The poet Wordsworth says: 

"Not an inch of his body is free from delight. 

Can he keep himself still if he would? Oh, not he! 

The music stirs in him like wind through a tree.' 

Mrs. Orchard Oriole is very soberly clad, some- 
thing after the fashion of Lady Baltimore. But 
if you will look more closely, you will see that she 
has a black throat and buff shoulder bars, and 
altogether is more brownish-olive than her cousin. 
She builds a beautiful nest, but it is not shaped 
like Mrs. Baltimore's. It is woven carefully in 
the fork of a tree, and is a wonder of neatness 
and art. Fine sweet-smelling grasses are her 
materials, and she does not allow Mr. Oriole to 
set foot in the nest until it is done. He would 
be sure to catch his toe, man-fashion, in some 
delicate thread, and work a sad havoc ! So nearly 
does the color of the nest blend with its surround- 
ings, that many an old apple tree contains a se- 
cret all unguessed by those who sit in its shade. 
The eggs are dusky-white, spotted with dark 
brown. 

We once saw an orchard oriole in company 
with his cousin Baltimore, perched in the top- 
most branches of an old box elder, both fairly 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 107 

splitting their little throats in their efforts to 
outdo each other, and to waft their love songs to 
their little mates which were brooding in the 



garden. 



THE BOBOLINK 



The bobolink is well known in song and story. 
He was a favorite with the poet Lowell, who 
dubbed him "June's bridesman" and spoke of 
him as "gladness on wings." The latter title 
seems just to suit him, as 

Half hid in tiptop apple blooms he sings, 

He climbs against the breeze with quiverin' wings, 

Or, givin' way to't in a mock despair, 

Runs down, a brook o' laughter, through the air. 

He is a close neighbor of his friend and cousin, 
the meadow-lark. Indeed, if you time your visit 
to the pastures just right, you may catch him 
perched on tip-toe on a stout weed stalk singing 
with all his might. And what is he saying? 

"Bob-o-link, bob-o-link, 

Spink, spank, spink, 
Sure there was never a bird so fine, 
Look what a nice new coat is mine, 

Chee, chee, chee !" 

And it is a fine coat! There can be no doubt 
of it. Black and white, as becomes the fashion- 
able wedding garment, with a gay yellow patch 



108 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

on the nape of the neck, a few streaks and 
splashes on the middle of his back, and yellow 
tips on the wing and tail feathers. Bobolink 
knows that it will not wear long, and he makes 
the best of it. 

Our gay little friend has more names and titles 
than one bird should have by good rights. And 
yet, strange to say, at different times of the year, 
most of these titles are very appropriate. Here 
are some of them : meadow-bird, May bird, Amer- 
ican ortolan, butter bird, reed bird, and rice bird. 
So it will be seen at once that the bobolink is a 
queer fellow, subject to many changes. The 
name which he gives himself, however, seems to 
us to be the very best name of all. Listen! 

"Bob-o-link; bob-o-link, 
Spink, spank, spink." 

It is said that bob-o-link has a reason for pub- 
lishing his name in and out of season. You see 
folks used to call him the "skunk blackbird" and 
he got sick and tired of it. Who wouldn't? The 
idea of calling such a dashing, handsome fellow a 
skunk blackbird, just because the skunk is fond 
of eating him! Why any number of feathered 
friends might have an equal right to the title ! 

Often people disagree as to "Robert of Lin- 
coln's" call note. Some say that he says "just 
think," "don't you wink, don't j^ou wink," "want 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 109 

a drink, want a drink," etc. The boys in New 
England hear him dunning, "Bob-o-link, bob-o- 
link, and Tom Denny, Tom Denny, come pay 
me the two sixpence you've owed for a year and 
a half!— 'tshe, 'tshe, 'tsh, 'tsh, 'tshe!" What 
does he say to you? 

The bobolinks are among the last birds to come, 
not arriving until the grass in the meadows is 
just the right height to screen the nest, and there 
are plenty of insects running all about to make 
housekeeping easy. The females do not arrive 
until several days after the males. They are 
quiet little creatures in dull yellow-brown, with 
light and dark dashes on back, wings, and fail 
and two deeper stripes on top of the head. 

Then such a courting as ensues! Wilson 
Flagg gives us a delightful glimpse of it in his 
lines : 

"A flock of merry singing birds were sporting in the grove; 
Some were warbling cheerily, and some were making love ; 
There were Bobolincoln, Wadolincoln, Winterseeble. Con- 

quedle — 
A livelier set was never led by tabcr, pipe, or fiddle, — 
Crying, 'Pshew, shew, Wadolincoln, see, see Bobolineo'ln, 
">own among the thistletops, hiding in the buttercups !' " 

"Now they rise and now they fly; 

They cross and turn, and in and out, and down in the mid- 
dle and wheel about, 

With a 'Pshew, shew. Wadolincoln; listen to me, Bobolin- 
coln !' " 



110 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

As soon as bobolink has won the consent of the 
demure little Quaker-like maid of his choice, he 
goes fairly off his head with joy, and is of no 
manner of use in the nest building. He mounts 
a weed stalk and fairly strains his vocal cords 
trying to voice all his happiness at once, and no 
doubt his little birdie is quite satisfied. For it is 
no trick to set up a bobolink household. Often 
the deserted nest of a field-mouse makes a splen- 
did nursery. It is only necessary to put in a new 
lining, and there you are! Mrs. Bob eats as she 
works, for there are little insects running all 
about. Often they almost fall into her mouth 
as she picks a blade of grass. 

Five or six bluish-white eggs are laid, and the 
mother bird broods over them carefully, while 
Robert stands guard, like the very "braggart 
and prince of braggarts he is, pouring boasts from 
his little throat!" Listen! 

"Brood, kind creature; you need not fear 
Thieves and robbers while I am here, 
Chee. chee. chee !" 

"Never was I afraid of man, 
Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can ! 
Chee, chee, chee !" 

You see, he is very sure that no one can find 
the nest, and his confidence makes him bold. For 
has not his little wife concealed it so cleverlv 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 111 

that one may walk right by it and never see it, 
even when he is looking for birds' nests? How- 
ever, one who is at all used to birds would be- 
come suspicions in a moment, just by Bob's own 
silly actions. He utters such a host of dire 
threats, and jumps about so frantically that a 
blind man would suspect his precious secret. 
After all, Robert of Lincoln, in spite of your 
boasted wiseness, yours is an empty little head! 
When the birdlings chip the shell and begin to 
stretch their hungry little mouths Robert is forced 
to get busy. Such hosts of grasshoppers, beetles 
and spiders as they devour! And they never 
seem satisfied ! Poor Bob forgets his "merry old 
strains," and has time only to call out now and 
then: 

"Bob-o-link, bob-o-link, 

Spink, spank, spink; 
This new life is likely to be 
Hard for a gay young fellow like me: 

Chee, chee, chee !" 

He is quite right. Long before the leaves be- 
gin to turn, "June's bridesman" is a humdrum 
crone, "sober with work and silent with care." 
Indeed, he becomes so mo'ody and morose that 
his little mate is quite alarmed. Whatever can 
be the matter with him? She puzzles over it a 
great deal, and finally discovers that her seedy 



112 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

little spouse is worrying over his fall suit! In 
vain she seeks to encourage him, for you know 
there will be no tailor bill to pay. But Bob 
seems only to grow more disheartened and finally 
he sneaks off into the thickest reeds he can find 
and stays for several days. He comes out so 
changed and crestfallen that even his wife and 
children do not recognize him. Gone are his gay 
dashing airs and his wedding garments! He is 
only a poor reed bird now, dressed in pain yel- 
low-brown. He joins the flock of females and 
young birds that have gathered in the meadow 
during his absence, and apparently devotes his 
whole time just to getting fat. 

In the latter part of August, the bobolinks 
begin their journey southward, traveling mostly 
at night. Formerly, when the low marshy shores 
of the Carolinas and some of the more southern 
States were devoted to rice culture, the bobolinks, 
or rice birds as they are called in these sections, 
did great damage to the ripening grain, and fur- 
nished no end of delicious platters for the table 
of the revengeful planters. With the change in 
the rice-raising districts, however, this damage 
is no longer done, and the bobolinks make their 
way in safety to South America and the West 
Indies, and in the course of time, come rioting 
back to our pastures and meadows again — sport- 
ing a new spring suit ! 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 113 

THE COW BIRD 

The cowbird is often spoken of as the brown- 
headed oriole. No doubt you have often met 
him in the pasture, and perhaps you may have 
mistaken him for the meadow-lark. But aside 
from their trim gracefulness, the cousins are 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

COWBIRD 

A lazy loafer who doesn't want to be bothered with housekeeping, or 
rearing children. 

really not very much alike. Mr. Cowbird wears 
a handsome coat of black, and his head, neck and 
breast are a glistening cinnamon brown. Mrs. 
Cowbird, like most of the dames in the bird world, 
is clothed in sober colors, being a sort of faded, 
washed-out copy of her mate. 

These birds have none of the thievish, mur- 
derous habits of their blackbird kin, and do con- 



114 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

siderable service in ridding out troublesome in- 
sects. But, notwithstanding all this, they have 
a very black character indeed, because of the lazy, 
shilly-shally, irresponsible females, who are too 
society-loving to stay at home and rear their 
young in approved bird fashion. They often 
lay their egg on the ground and eat it to save 
further trouble! Some of the less scatter- 
brained ones, however, sneak around the homes 
of their bird neighbors, and if the little housewife 
steps out for a moment, they slyly lay one of 
their own eggs in the nest, often throwing out an 
egg to make room for it. 

It is said that the cowbirds specially seek out 
the nests of the vireo, the summer yellowbird, and 
the chipping sparrow. But we see no reason to 
believe this. It would be altogether too much 
trouble. Xo doubt they lay in the first un- 
guarded nest that comes handy. As often as 
not, it is patient little Mrs. Bobolink who is thus 
imposed on. Does she discover the deception? 
Yes, in a way. On arriving home, her bright 
little eyes at once discover that something is the 
matter, and she utters a cry of alarm which brings 
Robert to her side in a hurry. 

"Oh, Bob!" she wails, "something is the mat- 
ter with one of my eggs! Just look at that! I 
never laid such a large brown speckled thing in 
my life! Never!" 



THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 115 

Robert is very sympathetic, but all the world 
looks so gay and good to him that he cannot 
even harbor any suspicion of wrong, so he ten- 
derly laughs away her fears, and the nesting 
goes on. Even when the e^g is hatched, they do 
not realize the trick that has been played upon 
them. It is a source of great worry and trouble 
that one of their children is so ill-mannered and 
greedy, and they feel scarcely any regret when 
they come home some day and find the little ras- 
cal gone. "Probably some skunk has eaten him !" 
says Robert. "It is a blessing he did not get 
one of our good children." But once again Bob 
is mistaken; the ungrateful, ill-mannered little 
chap has only run away and joined a flock of his 
own kind, feeding close to the cattle's noses in a 
pasture near by. 

The cowbird's song is confined to a few sharp, 
whistling notes. Some one says that his call note 
sounds like "Fidgety! Fidgety I" And no doubt 
that is what he does say. It would be just like 
the silly creature to give itself away in that man- 
ner! The cowbirds migrate in flocks in March 
and November. They are said to be the only 
birds in America which do not build some sort 
of a nest and rear their own young. 



THE TAXAGERS 

A flame went flitting through the wood: 
The neighboring birds all understood 

Here was a marvel of their kind; 
And silent was each feathered throat 
To catch the brilliant stranger's note. 
And folded every songster's wing 
To hide its sober coloring. 

A BIRD-LOVER asks : "Is there a more 
beautiful sight in all nature than a grove 
of orange trees laden with fruit, starred 
with their delicious blossoms, and with flocks of 
redbirds disporting themselves among the glossy 
leaves?" Probably not, yet it is a sight enjoyed 
by comparatively few. To most people the tan- 
ager is but a scarlet memory, so seldom is he seen. 
The gorgeous coloring of the male tanager 
during the breeding season has led him to de- 
struction. Too often has he been brought to 
earth to supply quills and wings for the milli- 
ners! Hunted by man, instinct has made him 
wary. From one of the cheeriest and friendliest 
of birds, he has become shy, suspicious, and soli- 
tary. His ideal home is an oak grove near a 
good bathing place, though he is fond of ever- 

116 



THE TANAGERS 117 

green trees, possibly because he knows how well 
his glowing plumage shows off against the green 
background. He is fond of nesting in an or- 
chard, if he has confidence in the owners. 

The tanager family is a large one of about 350 
species. Only three members, however, venture 
outside of tropical borders. These are the scar- 
let tanager, the Western tanager, and the sum- 
mer tanager. They are the most charming mem- 
bers of their bright plumaged family, being the 
only ones who are gifted with much musical 
ability. 

THE SCARLET TANAGER 

"Plumed with fire and quick as flame" the 
tanager arrives about the first of May and flits 
above us in the green foliage, as discreet as though 
he knew he would be best appreciated if seen only 
by glimpses. What a beauty he is! Brilliant 
scarlet, with black wings and tail and grayish- 
white underwing coverts. He reminds us a lit- 
tle of our friend, the cardinal grosbeak, but he 
has no beautiful crest and then the black wings 
and tail destroy the illusion. 

Why is he caroling so loudly? No doubt his 
mate is brooding somewhere near. Ah, he is 
coming down to the ground! Don't frighten 
him: He is probably looking for a lunch for 
his little mate. Yes, he has captured a nice, fat 



118 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

beetle, and is flying quickly up into that tall oak 
tree. Get your glass! Oh, there is the nest! 
It is a rather disorderly looking affair of fibers 
and sticks, and so transparent that one can see 
through it from below. There are four dull blue 
eggs with brown or purple spots, just as it hap- 
pens. 

Mrs. Tanager has none of her mate's glorious 
coloring, though she has a demure soft beauty 
of her own, being clothed in a combination of 
olive-green and yellow. Her dress is, no doubt, 
a wise provision of Nature. If she were dressed 
as gayly as her mate, there would be even fewer 
tanager s throughout the country, as she would 
often be killed while nesting. The tanager evi- 
dently knows that his colors are a menace to his 
home, for he seldom chooses a tree near by, from 
which to carol his cheering love song to his 
patient wife, and goes near her only to carry her 
food in the shape of beetles, bumble-bees, wasps, 
and berries. The tanager is naturally timid, but 
the thought of his family makes him brave indeed, 
and when danger threatens he often loses his life 
by flaunting his colors fearlessly in the face of 
the enemy in the hope of drawing him away from 
the nest of his loved ones. 

When the young are first hatched, Nature fa- 
vors them by clothing them like their mother, in 
order that they may pass unnoticed amid the 




SCARLET TANAGER 



Male, in mature plumage, perching, female on nest 
Order— Passeres Family — Tanagrid^ 

Genus — Pi ranga Species — eryth rom elas 

National Association of Audubon Societies 



THE TANAGERS 119 

summer foliage. As they grow older, the male 
birds gradually get spots and dashes of black 
and red over their coats, as though their mother 
had mended their thin dress by left-overs from 
the father's old suit. You know Mr. Tanager 
changes his glorious costume early in September, 
and then "It's a wise tanager that knows its 
own father," so changed is he in his suit of russet- 
green slightly speckled with red. Did you ever 
jnck up bright red feathers in the blackberry 
patch, and recognize them as "shreds of memory 
from the tanager"? 

The tanager 's call note sounds like "Wait! 
Wait'/' It seems as though he is ever caution- 
ing his family to take due precaution in their 
search for wasps and bumble-bees. No doubt 
he knows that they will get stung if they don't! 
He is a very careful father, and does his best to 
help his wife train up their single brood and get 
them in trim for the journey south. They leave 
early in October, wintering in South America. 
They return about the time cherries are ripening, 
and range northward over the United States to 
the Canadian boundaries. In different localities 
the birds bear different names, such as firebird, 
pocket-bird, Canada tanager, and black-winged 
redbird. 



120 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

THE SUMMER TANAGER 

The summer tanager is the familiar redbird of 
the South, and in the estimation of many, the 
sweetest singer of his family. He is a tropical 
beauty of rich, glowing red, well worthy of his 
familiar titles redbird and vermillion tanager. 
His mate is dressed in rich olive-green and or- 
ange-yellow. 

These birds frequent the open woods, groves, 
and orchards. They have a fondness for tree 
tops, and a habit of calling "Wet! Wet!" which 
the Southern farmers pretend to believe is certain 
indication of rain. However, a good authority 
states that he is by no means a reliable weather 
prophet, and that he uses this call indiscriminately 
with his other call of "Chicky-tucky-tuck." 

The summer tanager's song is much like the 
scarlet tanager's, only louder and more musical. 
His notes have been compared to the robin's, but 
they are more wiry, more hastily uttered, and 
continued longer. His song is at its best during 
the nesting season, when he follows the fashion 
of his cousin, the scarlet tanager, and temporarily 
exiles himself from his mate, visiting her only to 
carry food and to whisper a few low-toned notes 
of encouragement. This tanager is a bird of 
quiet, leisurely habits, though he is an expert in- 
sect catcher while on the wing. His food con- 



THE TANAGERS 121 

sists largely of wasps, hornets, and bees, but he 
partakes of insects in general and loves wild 
fruit. His fondness for bees has earned him the 
rather objectionable name of bee-bird, and has 
alas! often laid him low. We know of one beau- 
tiful, but misguided little chap which came to an 
untimely end last summer because he insisted on 
hunting in our apiary day after day ! 

The nest of the summer tanager is not an 
artistic affair. Indeed so loosely is it constructed 
that it looks as if any ordinary summer storm 
might shake it from its foundations, some eight to 
twenty feet high on the end of a branch. It is 
only needed for a short time, however, as the 
young tanagers hatch in twelve days, and ere a 
month is ended are able to fly quite well and as- 
sist in searching for their food. In the first 
months of their existence, the young birds all, 
look like their mother. Then the males begin to 
don patches of red, but it is several years before 
they attain the pure red plumage of the fully 
developed adult. 

The summer tanagers migrate in April and 
October. Winter is spent in the tropics. They 
range throughout the Eastern United States 
south of Pennsylvania, but are most common in 
the Southern States. 



THE FLYCATCHERS 

THE flycatchers are a large family of over 
three hundred and fifty species, for the 
most part residing in the tropics, only 
about thirty-five of them being found in the 
United States. They are called "songless perch- 
ing birds," though they are not entirely without 
music. They are dressed in sober colors; have 
pointed wings which are usually longer than the 
tail; very small ieet, suitable only for perching; 
broad, slightly hooked bills; nostrils overhung 
with long, stiff bristles in which to entangle the 
small flying insects which form their chief article 
of diet. They have a habit of perching upon a 
dead tree, telegraph pole, or fence rail, and 
watching silently for passing insects. The fly- 
catchers are affectionate mates, but they care 
little for the company of other birds. We shall 
tell you of the ones we are most apt to meet in 
everyday walks. They are the great-crested fly- 
catcher, the king bird, the phoebe, the wood pe- 
wee, and the least flycatcher. 

THE GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER 

The great-crested flycatcher is the largest 

member of his family which frequents this coun- 

122 



THE FLYCATCHERS 123 

try. He has nearly nine inches of feathers and 
is a sporting ruffian through and through. His 
crested, large-eyed head and unkempt feathers 
are enough to strike terror to the hearts of timid 
little birds. Indeed, he is the nursery bug-a- 
boo. Xo doubt overwrought bird mothers often 
say to their obstreperous fledgelings, "The great- 
crested flycatcher will get you, if you don't 
watch out !" John Burroughs calls him the "wild 
Irishman" of the flycatchers. His harsh, rasping 
call is enough to set one's teeth on edge. His 
awful cry even startles his own babies in their 
nest, and raises the hair on their heads into a 
crest which lasts through life! 

Despite his sporting character, the great- 
crested flycatcher is the most dignified and hand- 
somely dressed member of the family. Both 
male and female wear coats of grayish-brown, 
washed with olive-green; throat and breast are 
pearl gray, underparts sulphur yellow, wing cov- 
erts crossed with two irregular bars of whitish- 
yellow, a panel of bright rufous adorns the tail 
and the extremities of the wings. They are 
bullies toward other birds, often driving out 
woodpeckers and bluebirds from their homes in 
the hollow trees and taking possession. They 
line their nest with a bit of snake skin, which is 
often left protruding from the hole in the tree, 
as a sort of terrorizing banner to frighten away 



124 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

chance meddlers. Perhaps this grewsome blan- 
ket is more responsible than Mr. Great-crest's 
awful yell for raising the feathers on the heads 
of the four birdlings, which hatch from the pur- 
ple-streaked cream-colored eggs. 

The great-crested flycatcher is found through- 
out the Mississippi Valley westward to the plains, 
and in the Eastern United States as far north 
as Massachusetts. He migrates in September 
to his winter hunting grounds in Mexico and 
Central America, and does not return until May. 

THE KINGBIRD 

Few of our common birds are better known 
than the kingbird, or tyrant flycatcher, and alas! 
but few have a more unenviable reputation. But 
really, his is a case more of having the name than 
having the game, for he has some characteristics 
which should endear him to the farmer and gar- 
dener. He is not, strictly speaking, a quarrel- 
some bird, as he usually lives in peace with the 
smaller birds unless they intrude on his rights. 
It is the birds of prey and the crows and the blue 
jays which arouse his ire. He hates them for 
the cowardly, sneaking thieves that they are, and 
delights in appointing himself policeman for his 
little neighborhood and establishing a station in 
some tall tree, or other vantage point, from which 
he keeps a sharp lookout at all times, excepting 




125 



126 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

when off duty while taking his turn at the nest in 
order that his mate may get a little airing while 
she searches for food. His meals are mostly 
caught on the wing, flycatcher fashion, while 
engaged in his arduous, self-appointed task. 

We are always glad to have a pair of king- 
birds nesting near the poultry yard. How they 
do hate a hawk! Woe to one of these chance 
air-prowlers that gets into their precinct ! They 
are over and about him in an instant, alighting on 
his back and pecking him unmercifully about the 
head and neck, until he is glad to turn about and 
flee for his life. The kingbird also renders great 
service to horses and cattle by killing large num- 
bers of gadflies. No doubt you have often seen 
one of these birds perched upon old Brindle's 
back as she lies at rest. 

Ninety per cent, of the kingbird's food is a 
meat diet, consisting of beetles, grasshoppers, 
butterflies, wasps, spiders, etc. He has been ac- 
cused of possessing a great fondness for bees, and 
for this reason is not looked upon with favor by 
bee-keepers, who have given him the name of 
bee-martin. Good authorities, however, main- 
tain that the bird eats nothing but the drones. 

In size, the kingbird comes next to his cousin, 
the great-crested flycatcher, being somewhat over 
eight inches in length. Pie wears a grayish-slate 
color coat, his black tail is almost rounded and 



THE FLYCATCHERS 127 

broadly tipped with white, his vest is silken white, 
and he has a concealed crest of orange-red on his 
crown. His feet and bill are black. Mrs. Kinj> 1 - 
bird is similar to her mate, with the exception of 
the crown. They are very devoted to each other, 
and think there is no place like home. 

Birds of the garden and orchard as they are, 
the nest' is necessarily built in a variety of trees 
and shrubs. Where these are lacking, they have 
been known to nest on a fence post and even on 
fence rails. Their favorite site is a nice shady 
apple branch, fifteen or twenty feet from the 
ground. The nest is a closely woven mass of 
weed stalks, grasses and moss, lined with plant 
down and fine grasses. The eggs are from four 
to six, white, rosy, or creamy, as the case may be, 
and daintily spotted with brown and lilac. The 
young kingbirds are plump, troublesome babies, 
who cry a great deal. They very closely resem- 
ble their parents. The family migrates in May 
and Sept ember. 

THE PHOEBE 

It seems pain-prompted to repeat 
The story of some ancient ill. 
But "Phoebe! Phoebe!" sadly sweet 
Is all it says, and then is still. 

f< Phoebe!" is all it has to say 

In plaintive cadence o'er and o'er, 



128 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

Like children that have lost their way, 
And know their names, but nothing more. 

— Lowell. 

The phoebe is a sad-colored little bird, about 
an inch longer than the English sparrow, familiar 
around barns and bridges throughout the United 
States east of the Rocky Mountains. He is often 
called the water pewee because of his fondness 
for nesting in the under timber of a wooden 
bridge, or of fastening his nest to a rock over run- 
ning water. 

He is dressed in a dull olive-brown, with dingy 
ivory markings on some of the wing and tail 
feathers, and soiled white vest. His feet and 
bill are black, and he wears a slight crest. His 
call note is a plaintive "Phoebe! Phoebe!" as 
though he called mournfully upon some ghost of 
his happy past. 

The nest is made of mud, moss, and grass, and 
is a beautiful work of bird art. Both birds work 
industriously at its construction and are as proud 
as can be of the four beautiful crystal white eggs, 
with their tiny reddish-brown spots gathered 
about the larger end. Though daintily built, the 
nests are frightfully unsanitary, because they 
soon become infested with lice from the hen 
feathers used in the lining. Then, too, Mrs. 
Phoebe is a dirty housekeeper. Often the young 
are so weakened by the ravages of pests on their 



THE FLYCATCHERS 129 

frail bodies that they die. Usually a fresh nest 
has to be built for the rearing of the second 
brood. This is generally placed very near the 
first one and soon becomes as fully "ready to 
crawl." 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
PHOEBE 
Perhaps not as mournful in his disposition as his song would indicate. 

Phoebes are said to marry for life, and to re- 
turn year after year to the same locality. What 
often appears like the home of a colony of these 



130 LITTLE FRIENDS IX FEATHERS 

birds may be only the fresh nests of one pair of 
phoebes, built from season to season. These 
birds arrive early in March, the males traveling 
somewhat in advance of their wives, though why 
is a mystery as they are the most devoted of 
couples. Possibly the slight separation is made 
that the building of the new home in the midst 
of their happy reunion may only be the more 
joyful. 

The food of the phoebe is much the same as 
that of the kingbird. It, too, has a reputation 
for bee eating. Indeed, it is said that the little 
phoebes can be heard very plainly on a warm 
summer day coaxing for "Bees, bees, please." 
Reliable advices, however, state that the phoebes 
catch only the drones, and that the parent birds 
learn to a nicety the time when the big, lazy, bum- 
ming fellows will come forth from the hive each 

day. 

THE WOOD PEJVEE 

"Dear bird," I said, "what is thy name?" 
And thrice the mournful answer came, 

So faint and far, and yet so near, — 

"Pe-weel pe-weel peer!" 
For so I found my forest bird, — 

The pewee of the loneliest woods, 
Sole singer in these solitudes, 

Which never robin's whistle stirred, 
Where never bluebird's plume intrudes. 

— Trowb ridge. 



THE 1LYCATCHEUS 



131 



The wood pewee is smaller than the phoebe, 
being about six and a half inches long, or a trifle 
larger than the English sparrow. His wings are 
decidedly longer than his tail. His back is dusky 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

WOOD PEWEE 
A haunter of the deep woods and silent places. 

olive-brown, darkest on the head; he wears a 
dingy white vest, which grows yellowish toward 
the center; his wing coverts are tipped with 
soiled white, forming two indistinct bars; he has 
whitish eye-rings and black bill and feet. 

He is a haunter of tall shady trees in the deep 
woods, being one of the very few birds that does 



132 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

not love the sunshine. He cares little for the 
haunts of man and seldom ventures nearer his 
dwelling than the orchard. His mournfully 
sighing call (( Pe-wee, pe-wee, peer' is one of the 
familiar notes of the woodland. He may fre- 
quently be seen perched on the end of a dead limb 
giving vent to his sad plaint, which is not, how- 
ever, so absorbing that he cannot see the tiniest 
insect that floats near him. 

The pewee builds its dainty nest at different 
heights, but usually prefers a limb fully twenty 
feet from the ground. The nest is a shallow, 
rounded cradle so cleverly fastened on to the 
mossy limb with bark and lichens that it takes a 
sharp eye to discover it. Inside are four or five 
creamy-white eggs, wreathed with brown and lilac 
spots at the larger end. 

This woodland lover is a common summer resi- 
dent throughout the eastern part of North 
America, arriving about the first of May. 
While with us he exhibits the same untiring hunt- 
ing industry characteristic of his family, and 
seems to care only for his little mate, his chil- 
dren, and his dinner. He leaves for other, 
though perhaps not happier, hunting grounds in 
Central America when the leaves begin to fall 
and merry nutting parties come poaching in his 
private preserves. 



THE FLYCATCHERS 



133 



THE LEAST FLYCATCHER 

Filled with an untiring energy is this little 
sprite of New England and the Lake Regions. 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
LEAST FLYCATCHER 
This is the natural size of the tiny bird. 

"Least" of all the flycatchers is he, being even 
smaller than the English sparrow. He is clothed 



134 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

much like the wood pewee and the phoebe, and 
were it not for his call note "cliebec, chebec" 
might easily be mistaken for one of them. How- 
ever, there is usually more gray in his sober suit 
than either of his relatives wears, and if one can 
get close enough to see his bill, it will serve as a 
mark of identification, as the lower half of it is 
horn color instead of black. He is quite so- 
ciable and willingly makes his home in orchards 
and gardens. 

In some localities, this busy body is known by 
his call note, "Chebec." He may be seen perched 
on the top limb of some great tree, a mere speck 
against the sky, his little tail and wings jerking 
excitedly up and down. Suddenly he launches 
forth, and if he were near enough, we would 
hear the sharp click of his little bill as it closes 
over his prey. After making a few graceful 
wheels and circles in the air, he returns to his 
station, which he often occupies for two hours or 
more at a stretch. 

In Southern latitudes, unfrequented by the 
least flycatcher, is a small cousin called the Acad- 
ian flycatcher, much like his Northern relative 
except that he frequents the forests. He has a 
habit of interspersing his trapping flights with a 
queer note or hiccough which seems to choke him. 



THE WRENS 

I FEEL quite sure that you know some of 
the delightful little Wren family — Johnny 
and Jenny, for instance. This is a family 
of considerable size, there being over two hun- 
dred and fifty members scattered over the world; 
but only twenty or so in this country. By far 
the best known is the house wren, that we all 
call "Jenny." 

THE HOUSE WREN 

"We always speak of Jenny Wren," says Mrs. 
Wright; "always refer to the Wren as she, as we 
do of a ship. It is Johnny Wren who sings and 
disports himself generally, but it is Jenny who, 
by dint of much fussing and scolding, keeps her- 
self well to the front. She chooses the building 
site and settles all the little domestic details. If 
Johnny does not like her choice, he may go awa} r 
and stay away; she will remain where she has 
taken up her abode and make a second matri- 
monial venture." 

I think she would have to look twice anyway, 
to recognize Johnny. Clothed in beautiful cin- 
namon brown, finely barred on wings and tail, 

135 



136 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

they are as near alike as two peas, and so full 
of joyous, bubbling spirits that they are seldom 
still for a moment. See how bright their eyes 
are ! And how straight they carry their reddish- 
brown tails! They have fierce tempers, too: 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
HOUSE WREN 
In their small house Jenny is indisputably the "boss." 

Jenny is always scolding. They are about one- 
fourth smaller than the English sparrow, and so 
full of spunk that they can put these famous 
little fighters to rout without half trying. 

Johnny and Jenny love to nest in the porch and 
behind window shutters. A pair of wrens has 



THE WRENS 137 

nested in an old tin can on a shelf in our work- 
shop for the past two seasons. Last summer I 
found a nest in a ball of binder twine. Another 
pair nested in the pocket of an old coat that had 
been carelessly thrown over the garden fence. 

For so small a bird, the nest is large, indeed. 
But then it has to be to hold the nestlings. The 
wrens like a large family, and as many as eight 
or ten eggs are laid. You may be sure the hun- 
gry youngsters make lots of work. Such a vast 
quantity of insects as it does take ! Millions and 
millions of them ! Poor John becomes quite care- 
worn and half forgets the merry strains that often 
swelled into joyous torrents in the early days of 
nest building. 

Like many other birds, the wrens have a large 
"land-grabbing" instinct. They often work on 
two or three nests at a time, placing them quite 
near each other. Why they do this is a mystery. 
Perhaps they have to "improve" their claim in 
order to make it valid in the Bird World. They 
often use one of the extra nests in which to rear 
a second brood. So, perhaps, they build it early 
in the season while they feel fresh and eager to 
carry on life's battles. Possibly, too, they are 
afraid building material will be scarce later in 
the season. 



138 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

THE WINTER WREN 

Some people think that the house wrens remain 
in the North all the year, but this is a mistake. 
They go South early in October. It is their 
cousin, the winter wren, which we see in winter 
time. This wren is a "winter wren" in name 
only, for he is frequently with us in summer, 
though he is seldom seen, as he keeps well hidden 
in the tangled underbrush of the deep woods. 
Hunger and cold drive him into the haunts of 
man. One authority says : "With a forced con- 
fidence in man, that is almost pathetic in a bird 
that loves the forest as he does, he picks up what- 
ever lies about the house or barn in the shape of 
food — crumbs from the kitchen door, a morsel 
from the dog's plate, a little seed in the barnyard. 
Happily rewarded is he if he can find a spider 
lurking in some sheltered place, to give a flavor 
to the unrelished grain." Like all the wrens, this 
little chap is exceedingly fond of bathing. He 
has been known to take his daily dip in zero 
weather of December, apparently enjoying it 
very much. 

THE MARSH WREN 

The long-billed marsh wren and his shyer 
cousin, the short-billed marsh wren, as their names 
indicate, are to be found in marshy places near 



THE WRENS 139 

the water. You may know them by their small 
size, their brown color, their long slender bills 
and erect tails, and their extreme nervousness. 
They are delightful singers, and if you manage 
carefully, you may sometime chance to hear a 
full chorus; for it is seldom that a single bubbling 
songster is left to finish his glee without half the 
colony joining in. 

Both of these wrens build hooded nests, weav- 
ing them carefully of sedge grass and tiny twigs, 
with a soft lining of meadow grass and plant 
down. The entrance is at the side. Quite often 
the long-billed wrens suspend their nests in low 
bushes or tussocks of tall grass; the short-billed 
wrens prefer carefully secluded mounds in 
clumps of wild rice or sedges. And both of them 
build several nests. It is said that these extra 
homes are built for protection — to fool the pub- 
lic, if you please. The male bird always trails 
the chance visitor to an empty nest; and if this 
does not satisfy his curiosity, to another one just 
as forsaken, to prove conclusively that he is not 
a householder with a growing family! The eggs 
of the short-billed wrens are pure white; those of 
the long-billed species are so densely speckled 
as to look almost brown. The nest is forsaken at 
once if either of these birds get an inkling that 
it has been discovered. They prefer to bring up 
their youngsters in the strictest privacy — accord- 



140 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

ing to the "little birds must be heard and not 
seen' policy. 

THE CAROLINA WREN 

The Carolina wren is the largest and most at- 
tractive bird of this family. His name is so en- 
tirely unsuitable, that we have privately dubbed 
him, "Little Sweeter'n Ever." It is exactly 
what he says when something has especially 
pleased him — and something nearly always has! 
This is his call note. His song is rich and bub- 
bling with joy, and so varied that people accuse 
him of copying from other birds — of being a 
blocking wren. But we think these birds have 
full title to all their wealth of song. And they 
sing merrily at all seasons of the year. Cer- 
tainly, they are the sprightliest bits of feathers 
imaginable. If it were not for their two safety 
valves — voice and tail — they would fly all to 
pieces with pent-up energy. 

But the Carolina wren is not nearly so well 
known as his small house cousin. He hides out 
a good deal of the time, and loves to live in the 
hollow of a tree, or a rock crevice. His upper 
coat is a russet brown ; his vest a buff white. He 
lias a rounded back and is about five or six inches 
long. 



THE SWALLOWS 

HAVE you ever watched the swallows 
playing cross-tag over the meadows at 
eventide? How they circle and dart 
hither and thither, calling to one another in little 
laughing musical twitters! They do not seem 
to know what it means' to feel tired, and yet they 
have been on the wing all day, earning their liv- 
ing. And such a delightful way to earn a liveli- 
hood! Do you not imagine you would like it if 
you were a bird, sailing about in the air all day, 
now high above the ponds and marshes, again 
skimming low across the meadows, here, there 
and everywhere according to your fancy? 

Mr. Burroughs speaks of the sparrows as 
"skaters in the fields of air, on steely wings that 
sweep and dare." Their long, blade-like wings 
cut the air with easy, graceful strokes, which 
propel them enormous distances before they have 
collected enough mosquitoes, gnats and other lit- 
tle gauzy-winged insects to supply their appe- 
tites. Nothing escapes their widely-gaping 
mouths. A sticky saliva glues the little victims 
as fast as if they were caught on flypaper, until 
enough have been trapped to make a pellet, when 
they are swallowed in one lump. And it takes 

141 



142 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

many of these lumps to make a meal; so that no 
more useful friend to man can be found than the 
swallows. They are especially valuable in the 
orchard, because of their fondness for curculio, 
one of the worst insect enemies the fruit-grower 
has to fight. 

Some eighty odd members of the swallow fam- 
ily have been recorded. The largest one is the 
Australian needle-tail, which is almost exclusively 
a truant of the air. The most ingenious one is 
the fairy martin, also a native of Australia. Its 
nest, is an odd bottle-shaped affair of mud and 
clay. Several birds build at one nest, one staying 
inside to shape the mortar which the others bring 
to him. The necks of the "bottles" are from 
seven to ten inches long, and the bulb or nest is 
from four to seven inches in diameter. They 
are rough on the outside, but the inside is beauti- 
fully smooth. Sometimes these mud-flasks are 
found fastened in rows under the eaves; again 
they are placed upon the steep face of a cliff, hun- 
dreds of them crowded close together, without 
the slightest order, their necks sticking out in all 
directions. 

All swallows are masons. They knead the 
mud or clay with their beaks, binding it together 
with saliva. Some species build nests entirely of 
saliva. These form the edible birds' nests so 
highly prized by the Chinese as a table dainty. 



THE SWALLOWS 143 

Only new white nests are used, and it is no easy 
task to gather them, as they are found sticking 
to the perpendicular rock, and the pickers must 

be lowered by ropes from above. But perilous 
as is the business, the trade in these nests is very 
large, amounting to nearly a million dollars an- 
nually. 

The swallow has figured in history since the 
earliest times. He earned the title "The Bird 
of Consolation" by spreading his wings under the 
cross to lighten the burden for the Savior. He 
has long been a faithful, well-trusted weather 
prophet, for doesn't it always rain when the 
swallows fly low \ It is said that the old Greeks 
would not harbor the swallow because he was a 
"tattler." And there is an old legend that a 
swallow chirped about the head of Alexander the 
Great to warn him that his family were plotting 
against him. When the Emperor Charles was 
besieging a certain town in Flanders, a swallow 
made her home upon his tent, and the great gen- 
eral took care that no harm came to her. The 
story is told in Longfellow's lines, 'The Em- 
peror's Bird's Xest 



'fc> J 



"Let no hand the bird molest." 
Said he solemnly 5 "nor hurt her!" 

Ad ling then, by way of jest, 

"Golcndrina is my guest, 

'Ti^ the wife of some deserter!" 



144 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

When the army moved onward, the emperor 
caused the tent to be left standing, that the bird 
might bring off her brood in safety. 

Only ten species of swallows are found in our 
land. Of these the barn, tree, and bank swallows 
and the purple martin are best known. The 
chimney swallow is not a swallow at all, but a 
swift. He is a cousin of the night-hawk and the 
whip-poor-will. 

THE PURPLE MARTIN 

Many of you know the purple martin. He is 
the largest of our swallows, about seven and a 
half inches in length, with a shining blue-black 
coat, and a forked tail. He loves to fill the air 
with little flute-like notes as he flies. Bravest of 
the brave is he in driving away hawks and other 
cannibal birds, but he is a coward before that 
miserable little free-booter, the English sparrow, 
and often allows the latter to oust him from his 
home. The name "martin" comes from a Latin 
word meaning "war-like" or "martial." You 
remember that Mars was the old God of War, 
and no doubt you have heard soldiers compli- 
mented for their fine martial appearance. The 
purple martin loves to nest in a bird box, but if 
this is not provided, he is quite satisfied with a 
hollow tree. The Indians used to strip the trees 
near their lodges of leaves and hang hollow 



THE SWALLOWS 145 

gourds on the twigs that the martins might nest 
in them. 

THE BARN SWALLOW 

"Barney," the barn swallow, is a delightful 
little chap, so sociable and musical, and so useful 
in destroying the flies and gnats that worry the 
horses and cattle, that he should be welcomed in 
every farm yard. He may be recognized by his 
sharply-forked tail, brick-red throat and buff 
breast. The nest of a barn swallow is an odd sort 
of bracket, made of little mud balls and straw 
and stuck on a rafter, or perhaps on the beam of 
a bridge. The eggs number from four to six, 
white, curiously spotted with all shades of brown 
and lilac. Several broods are raised in a season. 

Sociable and friendly as he is by nature, the 
barn swallow is not met with nearly so often as 
he was in your grandmother's time. The reason 
why is given by Mrs. Mabel Wright in a paper 
written for the Audubon Societies. She says : 

"We associate the swallow with comfortable 
old-fashioned barns, which had open rafters, 
doors that could not be shut tight, and windows 
with many panes lacking. Within such build- 
ings, almost as easy to get into and out of as were 
the caves and broken crags to which they resorted 
before barns were built, the barn swallows used 
to nest, sometimes in large colonies, while their 



146 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

cousins, the cliff swallows, had quarters beneath 
the outside eaves in a line of gourd-shaped tene- 
ments. 

"Nowadays, however, in the more thickly set- 
tled and prosperous parts of the country, these 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

BARN SWALLOW 
A bird with a host of goo.l qualities. 

loosely-built old barns have given place to tightly 
constructed, neatly painted ones ; thus, as the new 
replaces the old in their haunts, many a pair of 
swallows drop from their sky-high wooing to find 
closed doors and tight roofs staring them in the 
face. So they move on. Whither? Out to the 



THE SWALLOWS 147 

frontiers or into the 'back countries.' This ac- 
counts, in part, for what seems to be, rather than 
is, a decrease; but there is a constant and real loss 
of barn swallows, according to reports from all 
parts of the country, chargeable to the English 
sparrows. These little bandits seem to have a 
special fondness for despoiling the nests of swal- 
lows of all kinds, tearing them to pieces — perhaps 
for the sake of the feathers and other good ma- 
terials for sparrow-use — and disturbing their 
owners until the harassed swallows finally aban- 
don the premises. This is an extensive evil; and 
it can be prevented only by our taking the 
trouble to protect our swallows against their 
feathered enemies. Cats also catch many swal- 
lows, snatching them out of the air as they skim 
close to the ground in pursuit of grassmoths and 
similar low-flying insects. Rats and mice de- 
vour their eggs and young to some extent. 

"A third and sadder reason why fewer barn 
swallows are now to be seen in a day's drive 
through the country than used to delight the eyes 
of bird-lovers, is that for several years they were 
killed by the thousands to make ornaments for 
women's hats. This is the bird, in fact, which 
aroused in the mind of George Bird Grinnell, 
then editor of Forest and Stream, such indigna- 
tion at the waste of bird-life for millinery, that 
he wrote that vigorous editorial in 1886 which 



1-18 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

immediately led to the founding of the first Au- 
dubon Society." 

OTHER SWALLOWS 

The tree swallow is often found nesting in 
great colonies in the hollows of old sycamores 
and willows. Frequently it can be persuaded to 
nest in bird houses, and a woodpecker hole in a 
telephone pole is often a favorite site. Tree 
swallows always gather along the water before 
migrating, probably because insects are more 
plentiful there. Time was when people thought 
these graceful birds hid in the mud bottom of 
ponds and rivers, to hibernate for the winter! 

The bank swallow, or sand martin, is a giggling 
little twitterer — the smallest and the plainest of 
the swallows. His back is just the color of the 
damp, mottled-gray sands among which he lives. 
His home is a neat tunnel, wider than it is high 
at the mouth, and extending back into the bank 
from a foot to eighteen inches in depth. The 
bank swallows do great service every year in 
destroying mosquitoes. So do all the members 
of the swallow family. Indeed, Mrs. Wright 
says: "If any one asks you why people should 
love and protect swallows, even if you have for- 
gotten the names of many of the insects they de- 
stroy, remember to answer — 'Swallows eat mos- 
quitoes!' " 



THE MOCKIXG-BIRD FAMILY 

THE members of the Mocking-Bird family 
(or "Mimic Thrushes") — the mocking- 
bird, the thrasher, and the catbird — are 
so unlike that we can scarcely believe that they 
are kinfolks at all. They help to form the con- 
necting links between the thrushes and wrens. 
Many of the links which help to unite these two 
species are just as interesting as the mockers, but 
they are "missing links," being found only in the 
far South. 

The bird nearest to the thrush family proper 
is the brown thrasher, or brown thrush, as we 
early learned to call him. Indeed, it is with no 
little surprise that we first learn that he is not a 
thrush. He has so long been associated in our 
minds with Lucy Larcom's lovely, but mislead- 
ing lines : — 

"There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree, 1 
He's singing to you; he's singing to me." 

The mocking-bird is the wit of his tribe and 
the prince of ventriloquists. The catbird is the 
famous "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" bird. But 
let us begin at the beginning. 

149 



150 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

THE MOCKING-BIRD 

Wit, sophist, songster, Yorick of thy tribe. 

Thou sportive satirist of nature's school; 
To thee the palm of scoffing we ascribe, 

Arch-mocker, and Mad Abbot of Misrule, 
For such thou art by day; but all night long 

Thou pour'st soft, sweet, pensive, solemn strain, 
As if thou dids't in this thy moonlight song 

Like to the melancholy Jaques complain, 
Musing on falsehood, folly, vice, and wrong, 

And sighing for thy motley coat again. 

—Wilde. 

The mocking-bird is a humorist and a mimic. 
He can do to life any sound which his bird neigh- 
bors produce, and not only does he delight in 
mocking them and producing many a joke and a 
fright, but he takes great pleasure in imitating 
the young turkeys, the geese, and even the cat 
and the pigs. When we first came South, we 
nearly "died a-laughing" over the joke one of 
these feathered imps delighted to play on our 
dog. You see Nig had never heard of a mock- 
ing-bird, and she had been trained to come in a 
hurry when she was called! How silly she 
looked when she discovered that it was a bird that 
was making her chase around ! You may be sure 
he never fooled her again, but probably he was 
just as delighted as we were at her efforts to 
show that she didn't hear him. And he didn't 



THE MOCKING-BIRD FAMILY 



151 



forget it either the whole season through ! Every 
now and then he would put in a few minutes 
whistling for Nig, and how insistent he would 
get! It was just too funny for anything! 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

MOCKING-BIRD 

The most versatile and clever of all our native songsters. 

The mocking-bird is a good listener. Indeed, 
it is in this way that he gets his copy. He will 
sit quietly screened among the leaves all of a long 
afternoon listening carefully to the various 
sounds that fill the air; then "when Night lowers 
her curtains" he will tell all he has heard, throw- 
ing in every now and then a few notes of entirely 
his own composition by way of adding spice and 



152 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

variety. And a beautiful variety it is! Bright 
moonlight seems to give him additional inspira- 
tion, and such beautiful night choruses as he fur- 
nishes in June-time, before he becomes too worn 
with family cares. Longfellow tells us in 
"Evangeline" of a mocker, wildest of singers, 
that: 

Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music 
That the whole air and the woods and the waves seemed 

silent to listen. 
Plaintive at first were the tones, and sad; then soaring to 

madness. 
Till; having gathered them all, he flung them abroad in 

derision, 
As when, after a storm, a gust of wind through the tree 

tops 
Shakes down a rattling of rain in a crystal shower on the 

branches. 

The mockers are from nine to ten inches in 
length, or about the size of the robin. Male and 
female are so nearly alike that few can distin- 
guish them except at nesting time. They wear a 
modest gray coat which shades to whitish under- 
neath. Wings and wedge-shaped tail are brown- 
ish; upper wing feathers are tipped with white, 
and the outer tail quills are white, showing con- 
spicuously in flight. They share alike in the 
duties of nest building, and are not at all par- 



THE MOCKING-BIRD FAMILY 153 

ticular as to the material used. The nest is 
large and bulky and placed in low bushes or in 
trees, as the builders fancy, anywhere from four 
to twenty feet above ground. They seem to lay 
the foundation of the nest very carefully, then 
sticks and grasses are piled rather helter-skelter, 
and the nest is lined with horse hair and bits of 
grass. The eggs are speckled green and from 
four to six in number. 

It would seem that the mocker's talent for 
mimicry would often get him into trouble, but he 
does not seem to enjoy fighting, and seldom both- 
ers his neighbors farther than making fun of 
them. Xo doubt they accept him as a sort of 
clown and overlook his tricks. The mocker is a 
favorite "cage bird." If he is caught and tamed 
while quite young, he is said to make a charming 
pet, though he is apt to become silly if kept too 
rigidly behind his prison bars. He loves the free- 
dom of the room, at times, to stretch his wings. 
Mocking-birds have no fixed time to migrate, 
and are usually resident in the communities where 
they nest. 

The mockers are fond of fruit, but they like 
insects, too, and there is little doubt but that they 
catch enough pests to pay their fruit bill many 
times over. They harpoon an insect on the wing 
as cunningly as a flycatcher, and with their "ear" 



154 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

to the ground, like the robin, they can detect the 
delicate tread of a bug stealing along under a log 
or in the grass. 

THE CATBIRD 

He sits on a branch of yon blossoming bush, 

This madcap cousin of robin and thrush, 

And sings without ceasing the whole morning long; 

Now wild, now tender, the wayward song 

That flows from his soft, gray, fluttering throat; 

But often he stops in his sweetest note, 

And, shaking a flower from the blossoming bough, 

Drawls out. "Mi-eii, mi-ow !" 

— Edith M. Thomas. 

The catbird is a strange fellow — jester, mocker, 
and impersonator. From a beautiful, aristo- 
cratic gentleman with finely poised black head 
and shining gray satin coat, he becomes, without 
any warning whatever, a sneaking, low-down fel- 
low, with a harsh-rasping voice, and an utter lack 
of self-respect. He droops around with a hang- 
dog air that is truly comical when one knows it is 
only done for a joke. There is no knowing what 
the catbird may do, so full is he of jokes and 
tricks that a volume could not contain them all. 

Like many another bird, the catbird is wrongly 
named. Why should a bird with such a lovely 
song be made to answer to a name coined from 
his harsh, uncouth call? Or is it possible that he 
owes his name in part to an old legend? You 



THE MOCKING-BIRD FAMILY 155 

know, it is said that the catbird was once a sneak- 
ing gray cat that spent all its time prowling 
around among the birds' nests and eating their 
young. All the birds gathered together in a 
great convention and petitioned the gods to rid 
them of their enemy. In the twinkling of an 
eye, the cat was changed into a bird and doomed 
to nest low in the trees that it might watch the 
nests of its neighbors. He was made a detective, 
so to speak, and given the harsh cry of the cat 
to sound as a watchman's rattle. Of course, the 
clown abuses his privileges, but does he not for 
the most part attend well to his duties? Is there 
ever a commotion, or outcry, among the birds 
that the catbird does not immediately appear on 
the scene and add to the clatter by continually 
springing his rattle? Indeed, he is often the first 
on the scene. Perhaps some of his ridiculous at- 
titudes and poses are only a part of his detective's 
disguise. Who knows what bird mysteries he 
may be engaged in ferreting out while he acts the 
part of the clown? Some one says that the cat- 
bird drops from his graceful, aristocratic poises 
because he is lazy, and that if he were a man he 
would go on the streets in his shirt sleeves and 
without a collar! 

There is no more beautiful song in bird lan- 
guage than the catbird's. Mrs. Wright describes 
it as a varied recital of other birds' notes with 



156 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

variations of his own composition which sound 
like "Prut! Prut! CoquiUicot! Really, really, 
coquillicot! Hey, coquillicot! Hey! Victory!" 
The song is full of unexpected turns and buoyant 
melody, and may run on almost uninterruptedly 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

CATBIRD 

You cannot forget Mr. Catbird. Ho is both clown and expert songster 

in one. 

for an hour, or close after the first three or four 
strains. It is probably at its best in the early 
morning before many of the song birds have lifted 
their drowsy heads. The harsh cry of the cat is 
most often heard during the nesting season. In- 
deed, the multitudinous cares of raising a family 
seem to affect seriously the tempers of both birds, 



THE MOCKING-BIRD FAMILY 157 

and it needs very little to put them in tine scold- 
in »• order. 

Mr. and Mrs. Catbird are dressed alike in dark 
slate-colored coats, shading to gray underneath. 
Their wings are much shorter than their tail and 
give them a rather comical appearance. The tail 
and the top of the head are black, as are also the 
feet and bill. There is a patch of chestnut under 
the tail. 

The nest of the catbird is built low, a favorite 
site being the middle of a blackberry patch, where 
the tangled bushes make it almost impossible for 
anything but a bird to enter. It is a loosely con- 
structed affair of sticks and leaves interwoven 
with bits of string, rags, newspaper, and anything 
handy. Blanchan calls it a "veritable scrap bas- 
ket." But it is softly lined, and the little birdies 
which hatch from the pretty green eggs are 
cradled in it as snugly as though it were made of 
finest silk. 

The catbird family migrates in May and No- 
vember. They range from Mexico to the British 
provinces and westward to the Rockies. There 
is a species of catbird found west of the moun- 
tains which resembles our bird in everything but 
noise. It is a particularly silent bird and loves 
the quiet of the thickest shrubbery. The catbird 
frequents orchards, gardens, pastures, and woods, 
and does a great deal of good by ferreting out 



158 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

insects and worms in the tangled berry patches 
and vineyards. True, it likes fruit and eats a 
good deal of it in season, but it makes up for it by 
the large number of insects which it devours the 
remainder of the year. Winter quarters are in 
the Southern States and farther South. 

THE BROWN THRASHER 

Sweet and full of inspiration is the song of the 
brown thrasher, or brown thrush, as he is most 
often called. In the early spring he is fairly mad 
with joy. His farmer friends declare that he 
takes an especial interest in corn planting and 
they credit him with saying: "Drop it, drop it, 
cover it up, cover it up! Pull it up, pull it up!" 
It was at this season that Henry Van Dyke heard 
him calling: "Luck! Luck! What luck! 
Good enough for me! . . . Hold your cup! 
Joy wil fill it! Don't spill it! Steady, be 
ready! Good luck!" 

Very proud is he of his musical accomplish- 
ments, and he sits high upon some conspicuous 
perch that all his bird friends may see him and 
be filled with envy. Unlike the mocking bird or 
catbird, he has no talent for imitating other song 
birds. His music is all his own. In size and 
markings he greatly favors the thrushes, and like 
them, too, he seldom sings near his nest. He 
has one great wren-like characteristic, that of 



THE MOCKING-BIRD FAMILY 159 

thrashing his long tail almost continually; even 
while feeding upon the ground he keeps it wag- 
ging in the most ridiculous fashion. It is to this 
laughable trait that he owes his name of brown 
thrasher. 

He is a beautiful fellow, fully an inch longer 
than the robin. His brown coat glints in the 
sun until it seems to be a rich, reddish-brown, 
growing darker on the wings, which are orna- 
mented with two white bands. His underparts 
are white, heavily streaked with dark brown, ar- 
row-shaped spots. He has a very long tail, yel- 
low eyes, and a long bill which curves slightly at 
the tip. The female is a paler color than her 
lord and master. The thrasher's nest is built 
upon the ground, or in low bushes. They are 
common summer residents, migrating in April 
and October. 

A friend once had a brown thrasher for a pet. 
He was a very restless fellow, never quiet for a 
moment. One of his greatest pleasures was 
tearing paper. He would amuse himself for 
about two hours in tearing up a magazine to the 
finest bits and throwing them around. It was 
fun to watch him with a large newspaper. He 
would stand and shake it, then he would pretend 
to be scared at the rustle and jump away. 
Pretty soon he would come sidling back and 
shake the paper again. After he grew tired of 



160 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

this play, he would set gravely to work to tear 
up the paper. He always tore out the pictures 
first, and took great delight in poking his head 
through the hole where the picture had been. 
He was fond of putting himself through a sys- 
tem of feather exercises, and of stretching him- 
self. He seemed to try to see how many differ- 
ent positions and shapes he could get into. His 
feathers were his great pride, and he spent con- 
siderable time in preening and shaking them. 



THE CEDAR WAXWING 

THE cedar waxwing, or cedar bird, is a 
very dainty specimen of beautiful plum- 
age and delightful manners. So pol- 
ished and polite is he that he has earned the 
name "Polite Bird." A whole flock will often 
perch in the tree tops, smooth each other's 
plumage, bow, scrape, and twitter, and pass 
choice morsels of food back and forth among 
their number again and again before one can 
be found whose greed overcomes his polite- 
ness sufficiently to admit of his taking the first 
bite. The birds are very sociable to one another, 
except in nesting time, and travel over the coun- 
try in great flocks, stopping only a short time at 
a place, as they soon exhaust their food supply. 

Visiting such a large territory, as they do, the 
waxwings have acquired a number of names, 
among them being cherry bird, Canada robin, 
and recollet. The latter name is given the birds 
by the French Canadians, because the color of 
their crest resembles the hood worn by a religious 
band who style themselves the RecoUets. Seeds, 
buds, berries, and insects are their food. Ab- 
bott says: "The raids made by a company of 

161 



162 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

these birds when they descend upon orchard and 
shade trees which are infested by the canker- 
worm, or elm leaf beetle, has proven a blessing to 
many a horticulturist whose trees were threat- 
ened with destruction." The birds are great 
lovers of cherries, and make many enemies among 
the fruit-growers who think they eat rather more 
than they pay for by catching insects. 

The cedar waxwing is about one-fifth smaller 
than the robin, and has a beautiful plumage of 
soft delicate tones and beautiful sheens. He may 
be known by his rich, grayish-brown coat, deeply 
tinted with plum-colo:* on throat, crest, wings, 
tail, and breast. His chin is black, and a velvety 
black line runs from his forehead through the 
eye to the back of the crest. His underparts 
shade into pale yellow, and there is a broad, 
bright yellow band across the end of his tail quills. 
There are bright red tips, like little dabs of 
sealing-wax, on some of his wing feathers. The 
female wears paler colors than her mate, has a 
smaller crest, and a narrower tail band. The 
waxwing never seems to have a moulting season 
and is always perfectly groomed. He is a very 
plump bird, indolent to a degree bordering on 
laziness, and will sit for hours at a time stuffing 
himself and moving only when necessary to shift 
nearer his food. 

A soft, lisping twitter in the tree tops suggests 



THE CEDAR WAXWlNG 163 

the cedar bird. He lias no loud musical notes to 
announce his presence, and cannot even coax out 
a few love notes in nesting time, as can some song- 
less birds. He selects his mate late in July 
or the first of August (the time is earlier in the 
Southern States), and retires to the quiet of the 
orchard or the wild crab trees in the pasture near. 
The nest is a flat, bulky affair, constructed of 
anything that may be handy, and not unlike 
dozens of other birds' nests. There are usually 
four cloudy, purplish-looking eggs, spotted with 
i *ack. The fledgelings are dainty, well-man- 
nered little fellows, even more demure in color 
than their modest, velvety-gowned mother. 



THE WARBLERS 

THE warblers are delightful bits of 
feather, smaller for the most part than 
the English sparrow, and wearing coats 
of olive, dark blue or black, with gay markings 
usually of white or shades of yellow. Many of 
this large interesting family are merely birds of 
passage, during May and September, nesting far 
to the North and wintering in the sunny South. 
They do not always follow the same course in 
their travels, and even the most zealous bird lover 
can hope only for a bowing acquaintance with a 
few members at best. All are insect eaters, so 
naturally their bills are slender and finely 
pointed. Some of the family are excellent fly- 
catchers and take their food on the wing; others, 
the worm-eating species, creep, like the nut- 
hatches, around the tree trunks and haunt the 
tallest tree-tops in nesting time; still others feed 
and nest along the ground. All are fond of the 
deep shade, and it takes a sharp eye and a quick 
ear to note the shyer members of the family. 

Among the best known warblers in this coun- 
try are the impish little yellow-breasted chat, the 
redstart, and the ovenbird. 

164 



THE WARBLERS 165 

THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 

Aloft in sunny air he springs; 
To his timid mate lie calls; 

With dangling legs and fluttering wings, 
On the tangled smilax falls; 
He mutters, he shrieks — 

A hopeless cry; 
You think that he seeks 
In peace to die; 
But pity him net; 'tis the ghostly chat, 
An imp, if there is one, rest sure of that. 

— Abbott. 

The yellow-breasted chat, or yellow mock- 
ing-bird, is no relation whatever to the mock- 
ing-bird family. He belongs to the wood war- 
blers. He is a clown among birds, and a fine 
ventriloquist to boot. He can do all sorts of 
vaudeville stunts and keep his watchers heartily 
amused for an hour at a time. Burroughs says: 
"Now lie barks like a puppy, then quacks like a» 
duck, then rattles like a kingfisher, then squalls 
like a fox, then caws like a crow, then mews like 
a cat." Why he does all this is another bird mys- 
tery. Perhaps he goes through his laughable 
stunts for the entertainment of his brooding 
mate. 

He delights in aerial performances. In one of 
his principal features, he launches into the air 



166 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

with a loud cry, then holding his wings stiffly 
above his back and letting his legs dangle help- 
lessly, he allows his body to descend by a swing- 
ing, jerking motion into the shrubbery from 
which he ascended. Some one has suggested that 
he executes this bit of bravery with the intention 
of frightening away his enemies. If he does, it 
is certainly mistaken energy! Keyser says: 
"It is odd that these birds, shy and nervous as 
they are, should go so far out of their way to tell 
you that they have a nest somewhere in the copse 
that you mustn't touch, mustn't even look for. 
While you are yet a quarter of a mile away, they 
will utter their loud cries of warning; and if you 
go to the thicket where they are, you will be al- 
most sure to find their nest, so poorly have they 
learned the lesson of discretion." 

The chat is fond of twittering away in his un- 
usual fashion on moonlight nights. He is a bird 
of rough, berry-grown hillsides, and dense, 
shrubby fields. He does not seem to care for 
thick forests of large trees. You may know him 
by his olive-green back, bright yellow breast, 
white underparts, black feet and bill, and the 
white line which nearly incloses his eye in a 
ring. He is about seven inches long. The nest 
is a softly lined, bulky affair of grasses, weed 
stems, and bark, built near the ground in the 
most tangled part of the shrubbery, where it 



THE WARBLERS 167 

might safely be undiscovered, were it not for the 
crazy capers of the over-anxious male. 

The chat is the most common in the Middle 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 
A clown among birds who delights in doing stunts. 

States, though it nests westward to the plains and 
from Ontario to Central America. He comes 
North in May and returns the early part of Sep- 
tember. 

THE REDSTART 

I shall never forget my first meeting with this 
interesting member of the warbler tribe. I had 
started to go to the barn, one late afternoon in 
May, on some errand which left my mind the in- 
stant I spied a flock of "wind-blown firebrands, 
half-glowing, half-charred," flitting about on a 
pile of old decaying apple-logs. Glossy black, 
flecked with salmon-orange and orange-red on 



168 LITTLE FRIENDS IN 1'EATHERS 

the sides and wing linings, and a broad band of 
the same gay hue across the end of the tail, they 
were a sight to arrest even the most indifferent 
bird lover. Warbler their size and bill pro- 
claimed; so, too, did the sudden dashes upward 
of various individuals, to tumble downward in 
wind-blown somersaults. But I had no notion 
of their name Redstart. — What a misnomer it 
is! So few of the family really show red. 
"Orangestart" is nearer the truth. 

For an hour or more they lingered, and I and 
the two kiddies, who were as eager as their mother 
not to lose a motion of the "new birdies," watched 
and listened while they gossiped sociably, albeit 
a trifle monotonously and hurriedly, oft mur- 
muring over and over, 'tsee, Hsce, 'tseet, while 
they turned restlessly here and there prying un- 
der the loose, torn bark, or scrambled nervously 
creeper-style up and around the trunk of a 
stunted old boxelder near at hand. Occasionally 
some happy lover would pause and, fixing his eye 
on the demure olive-brown and yellow maid of 
his choice, warble out his hope and longings, or 
failing notes to express himself, he would simply 
stand straight, in a sort of graceful, hand-on- 
heart fashion, and spread his handsome tail 
feathers in comic resemblance to the grandest 
peacock that every flaunted his glorious fan. 

How swiftly and delightfully the moments 



THE WARBLERS 169 

sped by! Later, when our callers had taken 
wing, and we had identified them beyond a doubt, 
we found ourselves wishing that we might see 
them in their summer home — the valley of the 
Potomac onward to southern Labrador. But 
even there, so our bird guide assured, we would 
have to look sharp to find their nests, built of 
bark, and lined with moss and horsehair, close- 
fitting in the fork of a tall bush or tree, some ten 
or fifteen feet from the ground. 

THE BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER 

Canada, it seems, is the warblers' paradise, and 
of all the large family which flits there to nest 
none is more charming than the Elackburnian 
warbler. 

"The orange-throated warbler would seem to 
be his right name," Burroughs tells us; "but no, 
he is doomed to wear the name of some discov- 
erer, perhaps the first who robbed his nest or 
rifled him of his mate — Blackburn; hence, 
Blackburnian warbler. The /;///•// seems appro- 
priate enough, for in the dark evergreens his 
throat and breast show like flame. Pie has a 
very fine warble, suggesting that of the red- 
start, but not especially musical." 

Shorter by an inch and a half than the English 
sparrow, he is so richly clothed in black and yel- 
low, vou may at first glance mistake him for a 



170 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

small oriole. But watch him for a moment, dart- 
ing in and above the tree-tops like a thing of 
flame, and you can not help but name him a 
warbler. His motions define him; so, too, does 
his warbling high tenor voice. No foliage is 
dense enough to hide him, and no other warbler 
is quite so gorgeously arrayed. At least, so 
thinks his olive brownish-yellow little mate, as 
she flits after him so lost in admiration as to alto- 
gether forget her own voice. 

THE OVEN BIRD 

Have you ever by chance heard a bird voice 
plaintively calling afar in the depths of the wood- 
land, "Teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher' "? It 
is the anxious cry of the ovenbird or golden- 
crowned wagtail. But what it wants with 
teacher, what woodland problem it so earnestly 
desires help in solving is a mystery. 

"Early in May," says Blanchan, "you may 
have the good fortune to see this little bird of the 
woods strutting in and out of the garden shrub- 
bery with a certain mock dignity, like a child 
wearing its father's boots. Few birds can walk 
without appearing more or less ridiculous, and 
however gracefully and prettily it steps, this 
amusing wagtail is no exception. When seen at 
all — which is not often, for it is shy — it is usually 
on the ground, not far from the shrubbery or a 



THE WARBLERS 



171 



woodland thicket, under which it will quickly 
dodge out of sight at the merest suspicion of a 
footstep." 

Both male and female wear olive coats, with 
orange-brown caps, bordered by black lines that 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

OVENBIRD 
The home of this bird is a veritable little Dutch oven. 

curve 'toward the bill. Their underparts are 
white, and their breast and sides are streaked and 
spotted after the manner of the thrush family. 
It is this feature, combined with various thrush- 
like traits, which give to the bird its oft-called 
title of golden-crowned thrush. 

The name ovenbird seems odd indeed. But 
there's a reason, and a very good one you admit 



172 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

at first sight of this ingenious little feathered 
friend's nest. It is a veritable little Dutch oven, 
built neatly into a hollowed out place in the forest 
floor, where the dead leaves lie the thickest. At 
first glance it looks like a little hummock made 
by the uprising of the roots and twigs of some 
swift-growing plant, and one unused to the ways 
of ovenbirds would pass it by without a second 
thought. That is he would but for the silly an- 
tics of the birds themselves. At the mere ap- 
proach of a stranger, be it two-legged or four, 
the little householders are panic stricken lest their 
precious secret be uncovered. The mother slips 
out from the side entrance of her clever nest, and 
goes limping on ahead of the interloper, uttering 
strange bewildering cries, and seeking franti- 
cally to lead him away from the loved site, ere 
she takes wing and slips away secure that search 
as he may her brood is safe. The father bird, 
too, does every distracting thing that enters his 
silly noodle, and all the time his nervous tail 
thrashes and wags until it is a mercy that it 
doesn't quite wag off ! 

By the way, it occurs to me that the ovenbird 
must have been among the last birds to leave 
when the magpie gave her famous illustrated les- 
son on nest building. You do not know about 
it? Well, it was this way: The magpie, it is 
said, was the first bird to build a nest. All the 



THE WARBLERS 173 

other birds besought her to tell how it was done, 
and she obligingly offered to show them. She 
first brought some mud, and molded it into a lit- 
tle cake. All the birds sat very still until it was 
finished. Then the thrush cried out: "O, yes; 
I see just how you do. Take a cake of mud and 
hollow it out in the middle! I can do that." 
And away she flew, knowing nothing at all about 
nest building, as her nest proves even unto this 
day. The blackbird tarried a few moments 
longer, until the magpie had added a layer of 
twigs, and she flew away satisfied that she knew 
it all. So it went on, each bird leaving as the les- 
son progressed, until at last only an absent- 
minded dove, bereft of her mate, was left mourn- 
ing in a tree, and paying no attention at all to the 
magpie's demonstration. The little teacher was 
very angry, and vowed she would never again try 
to teach the birds. This is why that to this day 
there are so many shabby nest builders. 

The ovenbird's eggs number from four to six, 
and are creamy-white, spotted with brown and 
lilac, like diminutive turkey-eggs. The nest 
with its precious contents is never out of sight of 
the little parents. But then they really have no 
cause to leave it, for their food is right around 
under foot, as one might say, being made up 
wholly of the insects and larvaa found beneath 
the leaves. 



174 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

According to Burroughs, the ovenbird's love 
song is "a perfect ecstasy — clear, ringing copi- 
ous, rivaling the goldfinch's in vivacity and the 
linnet's in melody." It is delivered in true war- 
bler fashion, as the bird launches from some van- 
tage point and hovers slowly downward. But it 
is not a familiar song by any means, as the court- 
ship and nestbuilding are carried on in the depths 
of the solitary woodlands. 

THE MARYLAND YELLOJVTHROAT 

This is the title of perhaps the busiest member 
of the industrious warbler tribe; but why Mary- 
land is a query unanswered. It is a bird common 
enough along the eastern woodland waterside in 
summer, from Florida to Nova Scotia; winter 
quarters are in the tropics. 

"Unambitious to be seen," says Nuttall, "the 
yellowthroat seldom ascends above the tops of 
the underwood, where he dwells, busily employed 
in collecting the insects on which he feeds. After 
these, like the wren, he darts into the deepest 
thicket, and threads his devious way through 
every opening; he searches around the stems, ex- 
amines beneath the leaves, and raising himself on 
his peculiarly pale and slender legs, peeps into 
each crevice in order to seize by surprise his tiny 
lurking prey." 

If one accidentally wanders into his quarters, 



THE WARBLERS 



175 



he peers out through his black mask totally un- 
afraid until he thinks the distance between him- 
self and his questioner quite short enough. Then 
he is off. "But," says Blanchan, "he never goes 
so far that one is not tempted to follow him, 



■ hi 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
MARYLAND YELLOW THROAT 
A bird of retiring disposition who likes the deep thicket. 

though it be through dense undergrowth and 
swampy thickets, and he always gives one just 
glimpse enough of his beauties and graces before 
he flies ahead, to invite the hope of a closer in- 
spection next time." 

All this, of course, holds so long as one does not 
come near his nest. For then he is up in arms. 



176 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

and for the safety of that precious treasure, care- 
fully hidden in a tangled thicket of briers and 
sheltered by weeds and grasses, he will go to any 
lengths of scolding and entreaty. 

Sometimes the black-masked ground warbler, 
as the yellowthroat is often called, and his small 
olive-clad, maskless mate take up their abode in 
old neglected gardens or briery tangles in the 
fields not far from the home of man. If they are 
unmolested, they return to the same spot year 
after year. 

Various hearers have attempted to translate 
the forceful, energetic love-call of the yellow- 
throat. One words it "Follow me, follow me, 
follow me! 3 Another thinks it is "wiclrity, 
wichity, wichity wee!' Still another says that it 
is "I beseech you, I beseech you, I beseech you! 3 
If ever by good luck you chance to be in his 
vicinity, be sure to set down what his notes sound 
like to you. 



THE VIREOS, OR GREENLETS 

THE vireos are often called greenlets. 
The Latin verb "vireo" means "I am 
green" ; so if you remember that you will 
have a good color key for the family. The vireos 
are a large family of about fifty species, ranging 
in size from five to seven inches, for the most part 
a trifle smaller than the English sparrow. All 
are American birds, though many of them are 
found only in the tropical regions of Central 
and South America. They are olive-green birds, 
intersected with soft grays and yellows. Their 
bill proclaims their trade. It is slightly hooked 
at the tip and serves admirably to hold the bugs 
and worms which they glean. Very careful and 
painstaking are they, exploring every crevice in 
the bark and examining the under sides of the 
leaves. 

All of this family are musical and some of 
them are gifted singers. They build beautiful 
Ironies of bark which they line with pin'e needles. 
Great care is taken to fix the nest firmly in the 
crotch of two or three converging twigs and to 
cover it by twining the foliage gracefully above 
it. Only a few members of the family build near 

177 



178 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

the homes of man, the greater number preferring 
the quiet of the woodland. But wherever they 
are, they are happy little citizens and fill the day- 
light hours with their songs and call notes. They 
are Nature's optimists. 

THE RED-EYED VIREO 

Sweet little prattler, whom the morning sun 
Found singing, and the livelong summer day 
Keeps warbling still; here have I dreamed away 
Two bright and happy hours, that passed like one, 
Lulled by thy silvery converse, j ust begun and never 
ended. 

— Lampman. 

The red-eyed vireo is by far the most numer- 
ous and familiar of the Greenlet Family, and 
ranges from the Eastern border of the United 
States westward to the Rocky Mountains, and 
from the Gulf States northward through Canada, 
migrating in April and October. His habit of 
addressing an imaginary audience has led to his 
being called "The Preacher." Wilson Flagg in- 
terprets the closing of his little sermon as : "You 
see it — you know it — do you hear me? Do you 
believe it?" 

Sir and Madam Red-eye are dressed in the or- 
dinary olive-green coats and whitish vests of their 
family. However, they are more striking than 
some of their sober gowned relatives, because of 



THE VIREOS, OR GREENLETS 179 

the slaty cap they wear and the black-and-white 
lines over their ruby eyes. 

They love to make their home in the mapie 
trees, and are often spoken of as "the birds that 
sing all day in the trees about our lawn." Ab- 
bott says: "Catch a glimpse of the red-eyed 
songster and you will be surprised to learn that 
the clear volume of song which has entertained 
you throughout the day, even during the torrid 
heat of July and August, issues from the throat 
of so small a bird. Seek an introduction to this 
vireo and you will find him equally curious to see 
you. But as to forming an acquaintance, that 
is another question, and he continues to sing in a 
manner which would indicate, from the rising in- 
flection of his voice, that a closer acquaintance is 
not desired." 

You may look all summer for the nest of the 
vireo, and not be rewarded in your search until 
the screening leaves have blown away at the call 
of Jack Frost. Then it stands revealed, any- 
where from six to twenty-five feet above the 
ground, a dainty, beautifully-woven, cup-like 
structure of bark and plant fibers, decorated 
handsomely with wool, spider webs, twine, and 
paper, and softly lined with horse hair and wool. 
The three or four pure white eggs, speckled 
slightly with brown or black around the larger 
end, which the nest contained earlv in the season, 



180 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

brought forth some tiny fledgelings that thrilled 
the mother with pride when she thought that one 
day they might equal, or outstrip, their father in 
singing ! 

But alas! there was another birdie in one nest 
that we found — an over-grown, alien creature, 



Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
RED-EYED VIREO 
A public speaker who delights to "tell the world" on all occasions. 

who could not be taught manners, and who per- 
sisted in eating everything brought to the nest 
that he could gobble, and who finally ended by 
pushing his timid little foster brothers out of the 
nest, and later deserting his well-nigh heart- 
broken parents in the most shameless fashion. 
So much for the dashed hopes of one family of 
vireos! Let's hope, however, that they found 
some pleasure in watching the dainty little tricks 
of a neighboring vireo's happy family, and that 



THE VIREOS, OH GREENLETS 181 

next time gentle, unsuspicious little Mrs. Red-eye 
will not be imposed upon by the scheming cow- 
bird! 

The red-eyed vireo is never seen on the ground. 
His hunting, singing, and resting are all done 
high and safe among the green leaves. All 
worms and bugs are killed by striking them 
against a twig before swallowing them, as he has 
no fondness for a wriggling diet. 

THE YELLOW-THROATED VIREO 

Through saffron tints of twilight, 

Moves the young moon remote. 
Ah, listen ! Wandering, sweet — 

The Vireo's tender note. 
All that was dear in yesteryear, 

Or dreamed, or won, or missed, 
The Vireo flutes at eventide — 

When Memory's keeping tryst. 

— Lulu TVheedon Mitchell. 

The yellow-throated vireo is the beauty of the 
family and one of the sweetest singers. Mr. 
Chapman says: "If the red-eyed vireo is a so- 
prano, the yellow-throat is a contralto. He sings 
much the same tune, but his notes are deeper and 
richer, while they are uttered more deliberately 
and with greater expression than those of his 
somewhat too voluble cousin. 'See me; I'm here; 
where are you?' he calls, and at intervals repeats 



182 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

his question in varying forms. Sometimes he 
astonishes us by an intricate liquid trill which 
suggests the wonderful song of the ruby kinglet, 
but which unfortunately is sometimes marred by 
the scolding notes that precede or follow it." 

The scolding notes of yellow-throat sound like 
"Zee, tzee, tzee, tzu, tzu J rapidly repeated. He 
trills out a sweet song as he works diligently in 
the tops of the tall trees. He is said to be the 
only vireo that sings as he flies. 

This vireo may easily be known by his beauti- 
ful lemon-yellow throat and upper breast and his 
yellow coat shading into olive-green on shoulders, 
back, and head. The wings and tail are brown 
with many quills edged with white, and the wings 
are marked by bands of white. His range is 
from the Gulf to British boundaries and west- 
ward to the Rockies, with winter quarters in trop- 
ical regions. Although he is a bird of the forests, 
preferably of the forests bordering some stream, 
he may frequently be seen in the tree-tops of 
orchard and lawn, just as though he were paying 
us a sociable call. 

The nest of the yellow-throated vireo, in its 
woodland home from ten to forty feet above the 
ground, is one of the most beautiful structures 
known to bird art. A writer in Birds and Nature 
gives the following apt description: "While the 
materials used in their construction are not un- 



THE VIREOS, OH GREENLETS 18:$ 

like those used by the other vireos, the nests are 
somewhat larger. They are frequently entirely 
covered in a most artistic manner with lichens and 
mosses which are fastened to the outer surface of 
the nest with the webs of spiders and threads from 
the silky covering of the cocoons of silk-weaving 
moths. Thus the nests resemble bunches of moss, 
pensile from the forked branches of the trees. 
The nests are constructed by inter-weaving va- 
rious fine fibers, both plant and animal hairs, 
grasses, and sometimes pieces of string and shreds 
of cloth. . . . The male assists his mate in the 
performance of the duties of incubation, but he 
has the unfortunate habit of singing while on 
the nest — a habit which shows a happy disposi- 
tion but is opposed to the best interests of the 
birds." 

THE SOLITARY VIREO 

The solitary vireo, or blue-headed greenlet, is 
not so retiring as his name would indicate. He is 
a bird of the bushy woodland, and though per- 
haps only a comparative few have a bowing ac- 
quaintance with him, many have heard his song, — 
so many, in fact, that their united praises have 
made him celebrated. One admirer describes his 
tender notes as a "pure, serene, uplifting of its 
loving, trustful nature that seems inspired by a 
fine spirituality." 



184 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

The species may be identified by their dusky 
olive coats, whitish vests washed with greenish- 
yellow on the sides, blue-gray heads, white eye- 
ring which spreads into a patch on the side of the 
head, dusky-olive wings barred by two white 
bands, and a dusky tail with a few white-edged 
quills. They range westward to the plains and 
northward to the British provinces, wintering in 
Florida and southward. 

This vireo cradles her babies in a "beautiful 
little structure of pine needles, plant fibers, dry 
leaves, and twigs, all lichen lined and bound and 
rebound with coarse spiders' webs" built in the 
crotch of the hazel brush or some other convenient 
low bush in the woodland, 

THE WHITE-EYED VIREO 

The white-eyed vireo, like his cousin red-eye, 
often nests in the maples on the lawn. He is the 
scold of the family — a veritable little shrew. Of 
him one observer says: "Taking up a resi- 
dence in the tangled shrubbery or thickety un- 
dergrowth, it immediately begins to scold like 
a crotchety old wren. It becomes irritated over 
the merest trifles — a passing bumblebee, a visit 
from another bird to its tangle, an unsuccessful 
peck at a gnat — anything seems calculated to 
rouse its wrath and set every feather on its little 
bodv a-trembling, while it sharply snaps out 



THE VIREOS, OR GREENLETS 185 

what might perhaps be freely constructed into 
cuss-words." 

Mr, and Mrs. White-eye are a combination of 
bright grayish-olive green and white. Wings 
and tail are brownish edged with yellow and two 
yellow bars adorn the wings. The eye is in- 
closed in a yellow ring which extends from the 
beak, and the iris is white. They have the usual 
range and nesting habits of the red-eyed vireo, 
and despite their bad tempers, are just as fre- 
quently imposed upon as others by the sneaking 
cowbird. 

"Sir. White-eye is sometimes mistaken for the 
chat on account of his ventriloquistic powers and 
his habit of talking to himself; however his ir- 
ritable temper soon disillusions the curious in- 
quirer who ventures too near his "fighting line." 
His call note is a spiteful little "Chick-a-rer 
chick ,JJ that may be heard all over the garden. 
His song, when he will really consent to quit his 
fooling and get down to business, is sweet and 
charming. He is so fond of holding forth to 
some fancied audience from the top of a stump, 
that he has been nicknamed "The Politician." 

THE WARBLING VIREO 

The warbling vireo is a very happy, musical 
little fellow, as we discovered the other morning 
when we heard some little bird fairly bursting his 



186 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

throat with delicious warblings. High up in the 
top-most branches of the tallest maple in the row 
which bordered the alley was the singer. His 
notes suggested a warbler (and, indeed, it is said 
that the warbling vireo is the connecting link be- 
tween these two insect-loving families) , but a few 
distinctive markings soon named him the war- 
bling vireo. There was the little ash-colored 
head and neck with the dusky line over the eye, 
the barless wings, the yellow breast and the 
whitish-yellow throat and underparts, and we 
knew him at once and gave him silent greetings. 

When the carol was finished he went back to 
work. Then over and over again he kept saying 
what sounded to us like cc Litt ] e dear, little dear" 
though wiser folks claim that he says "Brig- 
a-dier, Brig-a-dier, Brig-ate!' Though why 
should he? Of course, some one has fabricated 
a tale that he is a major-general of some flower 
host and that his cry is alike a warning and com- 
mand to his under officer. But isn't it more than 
half likely that, instead of this nonsense, he is 
calling out "Little dear, little dear," just to as- 
sure his wife, who is probably nesting high in a 
tall old poplar in an unfrequented thicket, that 
he is busily working and thinking of her. 

Not many spare minutes has this charming 
vireo, so he needs must sing as he works. All 
through the golden morning hours and the heat 



THE VIREOS, OR GREENLETS 1ST 

of the afternoon he keeps up his untiring warble. 
Like many of his cousins, he is rather shy at nest- 
ing time, and resorts to the deep woods. But he 
knows whom to trust, and will on occasion nest in 
the orchard, though he much prefers a giant old 
poplar such as he can frequently find in old coun- 
try homes or quiet village streets. 



THE CUCKOOS 

DO you know the cuckoos? Lots of peo- 
ple call them rain crows. They are not 
social birds, and seldom indeed are any 
number of them found nesting near each other. 
Yet it would be hard indeed to find more use- 
ful birds. They are particularly fond of tent 
caterpillars and measuring worms, and delight 
to kill far more than they eat. Some one has 
said that one pair of cuckoos in the orchard was 
worth more than a dozen robins. 

The cuckoo sits around and mopes as if he had 
something weighing upon his mind. He is 
strange and reserved, "untouched by joy and 
grief, fear or anger." His call note, sounding 
from the depths of the orchard or the woodland, 
is as of one lost or wandering. 

Repeated like a soul that grieves — 
"Kou-kou, kou-kou" — a solemn plaint 
Now loud and full, now far and faint. 

The cuckoo family numbers nearly two hun- 
dred species, but only thirty-five reside in Amer- 
ica. Of these only the yellow-billed and the 
black-billed are at all common, and they look 

188 



THE CUCKOOS 189 

so much alike as to be often confused. But you 
may tell them apart easily enough, if you can get 
near them, by the color of their bills, and by the 
red eye-ring which marks the black-billed bird. 
The yellow-billed cuckoo also has some distin- 
guishing white "thumb nail" marks on his tail. 



%^ 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

YELLOWBILLED CUCKOO 
A mysterious son of chap who seems to have an ingrown attack of the blues. 

Both birds are grayish-brown, shading to grayish- 
white underneath. They are about one-fifth 
longer than the robin, the female being larger 
than her mate, an unusual thing in the bird 
world. 

The poets of England have always had a great 
deal to say about the cuckoo. Wordsworth and 
his sister Dorothy called him "the darling of the 
spring," and used to watch eagerly for his ar- 
rival in the tangled shrubbery on the hillside back 
of Dove Cottage. The same poet says: "O 



190 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

Cuckoo! shall I call thee bird? Or but a wan- 
dering voice?" But the English bird is much 
more of a "merry harbinger" than ours — for our 
cuckoo, no matter what other talents he may pos- 
sess, is certainly not musical. 

There is an odd species of laughing cuckoo in 
Mexico, which has fallen into disgrace among the 
natives. They despise him as a messenger of 
evil. For whenever any misfortune is about to 
occur the bird is sure to be heard fairly bursting 
his sides with delight ! 

In Scotland the popular name for the cuckoo 
is "the gawk," which means fool. Why? Prob- 
ably because of the bird's shiftless habit of laying 
her eggs in some unsuspecting neighbor's nest 
and leaving the rearing of her young to the ten- 
der mercies of the little foster mother. But our 
American cuckoos are a long way from gawks. 
Indeed many farmers consider them fine weather 
prophets. "Hark! hear the rain crow," they 
say; "we shall surely have rain." And though 
there is often not "a hint of rain in thirsty heave i 
or on burning plain," the prophecy proves true. 
Soon "great water-carrier winds bring their 
buckets brimming with freshness; their dippers 
ring and flash and rumble" and the rain pours 
down. 

Our cuckoos also raise their own young. But 
thev are sorrv mothers. Thev do not know how 



THE CUCKOOS 191 

to build a nest or to manage a nursery, and they 
are notoriously dirty housekeepers — a surprising 
fact, for the birds themselves are so trim and 
dainty. Frequently Mrs. Cuckoo lays an egg 
while she is brooding over an egg nearly ready 
to hatch, and sometimes, too, there are clamorous, 
half -grown fledgelings in the nest at the same 
time! Such shocking mismanagement, no doubt, 
drives Mr. Cuckoo distracted. He shuns his 
home, neglecting all his duties but that of watch- 
man, and seeks a new mate every season, prob- 
ably hoping to get a better housekeeper. But he 
never does. Perhaps if the lazy fellow would 
lend a hand now and then, his poor, over-worked 
spouse might have more time to keep things tidy ! 
Cuckoo eggs are lusterless, pale greenish-blue. 
Sometimes the nest is nothing but a mere plat- 
form of leaves, carelessly dropped into the bush, 
where the hapless babies will not have far to fall 
when they tumble out of bed, as they often do. 
Again it may be quite well fashioned, and lined 
with dry ferns, leaves, and catkins. But always 
there is a helter-skelter look about it, and it is 
unspeakably dirty and alive with lice and mites. 
The mother bird is quite devoted to her babies. 
If you go near the nest, she will tumble to the 
ground in pretended fright and do her best to 
trail you away by feigning lameness and making 
funny little sounds as if she is certainly choking 



192 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

to death. As soon as- you have gone, she will 
move the babies, Tabby-fashion, to so'me more 
private quarters. 

A charge of eating other birds' eggs is some- 
times brought against the cuckoo. But good au- 
thorities claim there is no ground for this, and 
that it is only the "rarest dissipation." Cuckoos 
prefer an insect diet — hairy caterpillars, large 
moths, click beetles, and saw-flies being great fa- 
vorites. And so many of the former do they 
eat, that a cuckoo's stomach, on being opened, 
looks as if lined with a thin coating of fur! 

Our cuckoo does not often repeat his name, like 
his English kin, or like the familiar cuckoo which 
flies out of the doors in the clock. His call notes, 
"Kuk, h-lxuh, lx-lxiilx, h-huh" sound considerably 
like a turkey. His song, if song it may be called, 
is like the plaintive murmurings of a pigeon. 
Indeed, the black-billed cuckoo is often called the 
wood pigeon, because of his peculiar resemblance 
to the passenger pigeon, traceable not only in his 
call but in his red eye-circle, the shape of his 
head, and his motions on alighting and on taking 
wing. 

The cuckoos are own cousins to the kingfishers, 
and are frequently found nesting not far from 
these interesting kin in the brush land along a 
stream, but so shy and reserved are they that you 



THE CUCKOOS 193 

will need to look twice to find them. They mi- 
grate in May and September, ranging from 
Panama to cold latitudes. They are seldom seen 
west of the Rocky Mountains. 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 

¥ II iHE whip-poor-will, the chimney-swift, 
and the ruby-throated humming-bird are 
**L- the feathered friends we wish to tell you 
about here. They are so unlike in size, coloring, 
and general appearance that it is difficult to be- 
lieve them kin; yet when one studies them care- 
fully, they are found to have many points in 
common. For instance, all have small, weak 
feet and powerful wings, and nearly all have the 
habit of seeking their food at night, and of catch- 
ing insects while on the wing. The goatsuckers 
and nighthawks are other well-known members 
of the family. It is a long jump from the goat- 
sucker to the humming-bird, as you may readily 
see, but there are many connecting links in the 
far South who can not be tempted from their 
tropical homes. 

THE WHIP-POOR-WILL 

Lone Whip-poor-will, 
There is much sweetness in thy fitful hymn, 
Heard in the drowsy watches of the night. 
Ofttimes, when all the village lights are out, 
And the wide air is still, I hear thee chant 
194 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 195 

Thy hollow dirge, like some recluse, who. takes 

His lodging in the wilderness of woods. 

And lifts his anthem when the world is still; 

And the dim. solemn night, that brings to man 

And to the herds, deep slumbers, and sweet dews 

To the red roses and the herbs, doth find 

Xo eye. save thine, a watcher in her halls. 

I hear thee oft at midnight, when the thrush 

And the green, roving linnet are at rest, 

And the blithe, twittering swallows have long ceased 

Their noisy note, and folded up their wings. 

— Birds and All Nature. 

"Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will!" who has 

not heard the mournful wail ? And where is the 
school boy who has not queried: "Why should 
Will be whipped?" Just so. What strange trick 
of fate compels the bird to utter this woeful call 
forever? Did some member of his clan, named 
Will, way back in the Dark Ages, receive a sound 
thrashing for some misdemeanor, and did he wail 
out over and over in anger and misery "They 
whipped poor Will!" until his bird brothers took 
up the refrain never again to lay down the bar- 
den? So the legend has it, and who shall say if 
it be true ? 

The whip-poor-will is a member of the Goat- 
sucker Family of which there are about 100 
species. Of his next in kin, perhaps the Chuck- 
Will's widow and the nighthawk are the best 
known. He is often confused with the latter, 



196 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

but it is only by the inexperienced, as the birds 
are unlike in habits, though alike in coloring. 
For instance, the whip-poor-will is a forest bird; 
the nighthawk prefers the open country. The 
whip-poor-will is a bird of the night; the night- 
hawk (Oh, misleading name!) is a bird of the 
day and early evening. Then, too, the night- 
hawk has a distinguishing mark in the shape of 
white bars on the under surface of his wings, 
which may plainly be seen while the bird is per- 
forming his wonderful feats on wing. 

The whip-poor-will is a shaggy, long winged, 
mottled bird of reddish-brown, grayish-black, 
and murky-white, about the size of the robin, 
though his long, wide-spread wings make him ap- 
pear much larger. A narrow white band out- 
lines the upper edge of his vest, and his tail quills 
are white on the end and underside. His large 
fly-trap mouth is fringed with stiff bristles. The 
female is much like her mate, excepting for a 
buff vest edging and dusky-white markings on 
the tail, where her lord wears white. 

The birds range over the United States west- 
ward to the j)lains from April to September, 
keeping well back from the sea and apparently 
having little liking for the roaring monster. 
They love a patch of rocky, forest waste where 
they may sleep undisturbed through even the 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 197 

nost perfect days. They have a habit of roosting 
length-wise on a lichen-covered bough or ledge, 
and so much do they resemble their surroundings 
that they are often passed unnoticed. If dis- 
turbed, they will flit away without a sound, leav- 
ing the intruder gazing after them in surprise. 

We once had the good fortune to come upon 
two whip-poor-wills side by side on a bough, or 
rather nose to nose on a bough. So dead to the 
world were they that we tumbled the well-fed 
young fellows over and over in our hands before 
they could be induced to open one sleepy little eye 
even half-way. Perhaps they were shamming, 
for we, stirred to pity by their condition, ceased 
tormenting them and placed them carefully on 
the limb again to snooze, intending to keep our 
eye on them, but when we looked again, in the 
course of half an hour or more, they were gone. 
Silently indeed had they stolen away, for we had 
remained all the time within ten feet of the 
limb ! 

Few birds' nests are harder to find than the 
whip-poor-will's. So perfectly does the mother 
bird match the surroundings which she chooses 
for a nesting site, that one may walk right over 
her and never see her unless she chooses to take 
alarm, which she usually does, clucking like an 
old hen and limping away in a pitiful fashion 



198 LITTLE FRIENDS IX FEATHERS 

fully intent on luring one to follow her until well 
away from the vicinity of the nest. 

Nest, did we say? There really is no care- 
fully built nest. Just a little hollow in the 
ground, or possibly in a low stump, lined with 
dry leaves, on which the creamy white eggs, 
dashed and spotted with olive, find a soft bed. 
The young fledglings are like tiny balls of buff 
down, but they have tempers of their own and 
will peck a hand extended to pet them. The 
mothers are suspicious creatures and will gen- 
erally move eggs, or young, if they are discov- 
ered, carrying them in their mouth as a cat 
carries her kittens. 

In spite of the fact that superstitious people 
regard the whip-poor-will as an uncanny bird, he 
really is very beneficial. Traveling at night, as 
he does, he entraps many winged night prowlers 
that do harm to vegetation. So noiseless is his 
flight that doubtless many Avinged creatures fly 
straight into his trap -like mouth without even 
suspecting that he is in their vicinity! Blanchan 
aptly terms the bird "a sentry at his post, or a 
watchman of the night" and says that our Dutch 
ancestors claimed that no frost ever appeared 
after his call was heard in the spring, and that 
he always left before a cold snap came on in the 
fall. So he is wiser or luckier than some other 
folks we know. 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 199 

Til E CHIMNEY-SWIFT 

Uncumbered neighbor of our race ! 

Thou only of thy elan 
Hast made thy haunts and dwelling-place 

Within the walls of man. 

With thee, beneath our sheltering roof, 

The starry Sphinx doth dwell, 
Untamed, eternally aloof 

And inaccessible ! 

— Dora Read Goodale. 

The chimney-swift, or chimney-swallow, as he 
is often wrongly called, is no relation to the 
swallow family that decks the eaves of our out- 
buildings with their adobe homes. He is a tree 
swift, belonging to a family of about seventy-five 
species, and is own cousin to the nighthawk and 
whip-poor-will. In this instance, at least, the 
name means something. These birds have won- 
derful powers of flight and endurance, often 
traveling one thousand miles in a single night 
and day. Their flight is a j^eculiar, mechanical, 
rowing motion, almost devoid of grace, but very 
sure and powerful. 

The swifts are entirely American birds and 
are common summer residents east of the Rock- 
ies. They are about an inch shorter than the 
English sparrow, though their long wings extend- 
ing beyond their short even tail, with its pointed, 



200 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

elastic tail quills, which serve as props, make 
them seem much larger. The} 7 are sooty-gray, 




~i 



*r*~ 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

CHIMNEY-SWIFT 
These tireless little fellows spend nearly the entire day on the Aving. 

energetic birds with muscular feet and very sharp 
claws. 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 201 

Almost the whole day is spent upon the wing, 
catching enormous numbers of insects. They are 
found in immense flocks, especially when nesting 
or roosting. Apgar says: "In certain places 
where large unused chimneys are found, great 
flocks of these birds will be seen in the early 
morning, flying out from the chimney top, and 
starting on their day's work of ridding the air 
of flying insects. In the evening all will be 
found returning, a steady stream, into the same 
roosting place. When resting on the inner wall 
of the chimney, the spiny tail is used as a sup- 
port, much as the woodpeckers use their tails 
against the bark of tree trunks." 

Where chimneys are not to be had, the swifts 
content themselves with a hollow tree, and in- 
stances are on record of their having built their 
homes in belfries, barns, and cupolas. The nest 
is made in lattice effect with twigs broken off by 
the birds while in flight, and fastened together 
and to the support with a sticky substance from 
the bird's mouth. Five or six pure white eggs 
are laid for a sitting, and usually two broods are 
hatched in a season. It is said that the parent 
birds cautiously crowd the little ones from the 
nest to teach them to cling to the walls and learn 
proper use of claws, wings, and tail. 

The swifts are not musical birds, but a colony 
of them in a chimney produces a cheerful twit- 



202 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

tering that is apt to grow monotonous. The 
whir of their wings as they rise from their home 
has been likened to distant thunder. Some one 
has said that the swifts bring luck to the home of 
the householder in whose chimney they dwell, but 
the New England dames say they are more likely 
to bring bugs ! And they often have wire screens 
stretched over their chimneys to keep the birds 
out. 

THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD 

Voyager on golden air 

Type of all that's fleet and fair, 

Incarnate gem, 

Live diadem, 

Bird beam of the summer day, — 

Whither on your sunny way ? 

— John Vance Cheney. 

The ruby-throated humming-bird enjoys the 
distinction of being our smallest bird, and is 
only about half as long as the English sparrow. 
He belongs to a large family of over four hun- 
dred species, but he is the only one found East 
of the Mississippi River and North of Florida. 
He has several relatives in the Rocky Mountains 
and in Texas, but the majority of the great fam- 
ily live in Mexico and South America, too well 
satisfied with their luxuriant surroundings to care 
to venture into unknown pastures, even though 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 203 

their more daring relatives bring home glowing 
accounts of the nectar and flowers to be found 
in our clime. 

All of the humming-birds are small, brightly 
colored, swiftly flying birds, living mainly on the 
insects which they obtain while on the wing and 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD 
Our smallest bird, whose spunk is about ten times his size. 

the nectar found in flowers. Their movements 
through the air are very swift and insect-like, the 
wings vibrating so rapidly as to be lost to the 
eye in a hazy mist. Nearly all, excepting some 
tropical forms, have weak, squeaking voices. 
The ruby-throat is seen by most people only when 
it is hovering over flowers in search of food, but 
if carefully watched it may be seen to rest on the 



204 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

twigs of tree-tops. Sometimes it is mistaken 
for the hawk moth, but it need not be, if the ob- 
server will remember that the humming-bird is 
a day-time bird, while the moth is rarely found 
except in the evening. 

The ruby-throat is clothed in bright metallic 
green, which grows darker on wings and tail and 
shades into grayish underneath. The throat and 
breast are bright, changeable, orange-red flame, 
outlined with a white border. Dusky-white tips 
ornament the outer tail feathers. The bill is like 
a long, sharp needle. Mrs. Humming-bird lacks 
the beautiful throat decoration and is darker gray 
underneath. Her outer tail quills are banded 
with black and tipped with white. 

Though the smallest bird in existence, the hum- 
ming-bird has the largest temper. "A lion is 
not as fierce as he nor as ready to fight against 
odds." He seems ever on the alert for an ex- 
cuse to plunge his needle-like dagger into the 
jeweled bosom of his enemy. Keyser, in Bird 
Land, says: "A writer describes the contests of 
certain humming-birds in the island of Jamaica 
when moved by jealousy. When two males have 
become rivals, they will level their long, pointed 
bills at each other, and then dash together with 
the swiftness of an arrow; they meet; separate, 
meet again, with shrill chirping, dart upward, 
then downward, and circle around and around, 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 205 

until the eye grows weary of watching them, and 
can no longer follow their rapid transits. Ar 
length one falls, exhausted, to the ground, while 
the other rests, panting and trembling, on a leafy 
spray, or perhaps tumbles, mortally wounded, to 
the earth. There are some diminutive hummers, 
called Mexican Stars, which become perfect furies 
when their jealousy is aroused. Their throats 
swell; their crests, wings, and tail expand; and 
they clinch and spear each other in the air like 
the veriest disciples of Bellona." 

The nest of the humming-bird is a perfect type 
of bird architecture. It is a small cup, about 
half the size of a hen's egg, composed of woolly 
vegetable substance and other soft material, cov- 
ered on the outside with small pieces of lichen, 
fastened on with spiders' webs or plant fibers, and 
saddled on a tree branch, which the nest exactly 
matches in coloring, from ten to fifty feet above 
the ground. It contains two white eggs, which 
later develop into tiny caterpillar-like objects, 
about the size of a honey bee, covered with a few 
scattering hairs. It takes about three weeks for 
the tiny mites to grow a coat of feathers and fry 
from the nest. 

These are anxious days both for birdlings and 
parents. You see the nest is so tiny that, as the 
birdlings gain in weight, they are in imminent 
danger of being crowded over the edge. Then, 



206 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

too, it is a tedious task to hunt insects and con- 
vert them into shape for the birdies' stomachs. 
They are fed from the parent's stomach. Mrs. 
Olive Thome Miller gives the following apt de- 
scription of the odd process which many have 
witnessed : 

"This is the way my fairy-like mother admin- 
istered the staff of life to her tender birdlings. 
Alighting on the edge of the nest, she leaned over, 
and with her beak jerked a little head into sight 
above the edge; then down the baby's throat she 
thrust her long beak its whole length; and it 
looked actually longer than the youngster itself. 
Then she prodded and shook the unfortunate 
nestling, who seemed to hold on, till I wondered 
his head did not come off. It was truly fearful 
to witness. In a moment, shaking off, appar- 
ently with difficulty, that one, who dropped out 
of sight, she jerked up the other, and treated it 
in the same rough way, shaking her own body 
from head to tail by her exertion. Thus alter- 
nately she fed them, three or four times before 
she finished; and then she calmly slipped on to 
the nest, wriggling and twisting about as if she 
were pawing them with her feet. There she sat 
for five or six minutes before darting away for 
fresh supplies, while I wondered if the two vic- 
tims of this Spartan method were lying dead, 
stabbed to death, or smothered bv their own 



SOME DISTANT RELATIVES 207 

mother. But 1 did her tenderness and her moth- 
erhood in justice." 

The ruby-throat is no more afraid of man than 
he is of his brethren, albeit he is not quite so 
warlike! He will come uninvited to dip honey 
with his needle-like bill from the trumpet flowers 
on the porch railing, and does not mind an audi- 
ence at all, provided they keep quiet. Mrs. 
Miller gives a good description of one hot-tem- 
pered little lady-bird flying into a violent passion 
if, by chance, the flower fell to pieces as she thrust 
in her bill. Such conduct is typical of the whole 
flock of hot-headed little creatures. They are 
living examples of the phrase "a giant passion 
may dwell in pygmy form." 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 

OUR winter visitors comprise those birds 
which come to us from the North along 
late in the fall with the cold winds and 
the snow, and return to their homes again in the 
spring. They nest in the North, so we do not 
see them at their most blithe and joyous time, 
but we are grateful for the good cheer the} 7 bring 
into our bleak, wintry days. 

THE SNOW BUNTINGS, OR SNOWFLAKES 

These little nurslings of the snow seem to be a 
part of the drifting snow-storms and northeast 
gales. Indeed, Thoreau calls them "the true spir- 
its of the snowstorm." They enjoy our fiercest 
gales and whirl dizzily through the drifting snow 
when all other birds have sought cover, but no 
doubt our bitterest weather only seems mild in 
comparison with their Arctic climate. They are 
often seen to plunge into a snow-bank, and it is 
said they frequently pass the night enveloped in 
its folds. 

The snowflake is a member of the Finch family 
and is about six or seven inches long. He is 
called by several names, among them being those 

208 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 209 

of white bird and snow lark. It is said that his 
summer dress is almost snow white, and that he 
has a Aery inspiring song, but while with ns he 
is dressed in a combination of soft gray, brown 
and white, and his song is a cheerful twitter. 
They always visit ns in iioeks, and as they fly 
airily over the snow-covered fields they remind 
us at first glance of a whirl of dead leaves. Bur- 
roughs says of them: 

Their coats are dappled white and brown 

Like Melds in winter weather, 
But en the azure sky they float 

Like snowflakes knit together. 

O cheery bird of winter cold, 

I bless thy every feather; 
Thy voice brings back dear boyhood days 

When we were gay together. 

THE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET 

With the exception of the winter wren and the 
humming-bird the kinglet is the smallest bird that 
w r e have, being about two inches smaller than the 
English sparrow. He is a nervous, restless little 
chap, and jumps about in evident enjoyment of 
the cold, having so much energy and merry ac- 
tivity that our coldest days do not even chill his 
ardor. He is a very sociable fellow and is often 
found in company with other birds. 



210 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

The golden-crowned kinglets come to us from 
the North in the fall when our autumn woods is 
clothed in its gayest dress. They rove about in 
merry little bands, searching continually for in- 
sects under the bark of the evergreens, until some- 
time in April. They nest in the northern parts 
of the United States and farther northward ; very 
rarely is one found as far south as the White 
Mountains. The nest is a surprise to us. It 
seems so large for such a tiny bird, but when we 
peep into the well-made structure of moss, plant 
libers, and strips of bark, lined with warm feath- 
ers, and see as many as eight or ten creamy-white 
eggs all speckled with brown and lavender, our 
surprise changes to amazement. How can such 
a tiny mother cover so many eggs? Imagine 
what busy times the little parents must have with 
ten hungry mouths to feed ! 

This little bird is an acrobat, and can do many 
tricks, like the nuthatch, "head upward, head 
downward, it's all one to him." He has a beauti- 
ful love song, far out of proportion to his size, and 
frequently favors us with a few practice solos 
before flying away in the spring to woo his mate 
with bursts of lyrical melody. His winter call 
is a shrill, stirring zee, zee. 

It is a difficult thing to get a kinglet to keep 
quiet long enough to see what he looks like. He 
is a handsome combination of grayish olive-green. 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 211 

soiled-white underparts, and a bright orange 
crown bordered with yellow and inclosed by a 
black ring. Some ornithologists elass the kinglet 
cmong the wrens, and eall him the fiery-crowned 
wren. He is also known as the golden-crowned 
goldcrest. He has a merry hearted cousin, a 
trifle larger than himself, called the ruby-crowned 
kinglet, or wren. He wears a ruby crest, pre- 
fers a warm climate, and is as much a feathered 
embodiment of perpetual motion as is his gold- 
crested cousin. Both birds are dainty and 
charming and are inveterate workers. Blanchan 
says: "They are not at all shy; you may ap- 
proach them quite close if you will, for the birds 
are simply too intent on their business to be con- 
cerned with yours." 

THE BROWN CREEPER 

The brown creeper is a familiar little sprite of 
the winter woods that goes creeping round and 
round to the very topmost branches of the tallest 
trees. He is a trifle smaller than the English 
sparrow, but he has the largest conscience ever 
rolled into one bit of feathers. He often retraces 
his path over the tree for fear he may have been 
too hasty and missed one little egg or juicy in- 
sect. 

While with us from September to April, he 
lives a solitary humdrum life of toil. He seems 



212 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

to like to pursue his search for insects in a neigh- 
borly fashion with a band of cheery chickadees 
or nuthatches. Doubtless they give him courage 
and spur him on to greater victories. Occasion- 
ally he is inspired to burst out into song, and the 
result is so delightfully sweet that we wish it came 
oftener. 

The brown creeper is between five and six 
inches in length. His upper part is brown with 
mottled ashy-gray stripes: underneath he is gray- 
ish-white. His wings are brown, barred with 
white. He has a long brown tail and a slender 
curving bill. It is difficult to locate him. He is 
so quiet and unobtrusive, so nearly like the gray- 
brown bark where he feeds, that one may pass 
quite near and never see him. He is one of Na- 
ture's best counterfeits,, and carries out his own 
color scheme in the building of his nest, which he 
tucks carefully away under some piece of 
loosened bark. 

The brown creeper has a large number of Eng- 
lish cousins, but he is the only one of his family 
in the United States, and then lie only conde- 
scends to live about eight months with us. spend- 
ing his summer and nesting in Canada. 

THE CROSSBILL 

The American crossbill is an irregular winter 
visitor that usually arrives from the Xorth in Xo- 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 213 

vember and sometimes stays until April. In the 
higher parts of the Alleghariies and in northern 
New England the crossbill frequently stays all 
the year. He is a handsome bird of Indian red 
and brownish-gray, with brown wings and tail, 
about the size of the English sparrow. His mate 
is a greenish-yellow, tinted with brown. 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

CROSSBILL 

Mr. Crossbill doesn't want' your sympathy because of his crossed bill; 
he finds it very handy. 

The crossbill has a peculiar beak, crossed at the 
tip parrot fashion. It is the only native bird with 
this curious crossing of the bills. On this pecul- 
iarity hangs a beautiful legend. It seems that 
when the Savior hung upon the cross, this valiant 
little sympathizer came and pulled at the cruel 
nails which pierced His hands, — pulled with all 
his might and main, until he twisted his beak and 



214 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

dyed his brownish coat a bright crimson shade. 

The crossbills feed almost entirely upon the 
seeds of the pine, their brilliant plumage against 
the green making a charming bit of color on a 
winter's day. At first thought it would seem 
that these birds would be hampered in getting 
seeds from the pine cones by their curious shaped 
bills, but a few minutes spent in watching them 
is convincing. They insert their crossed man- 
dibles between the scales of a pine cone, and force 
it off with a quick twist, securing the seed at the 
base. Occasionally they scrape their bills across 
a cone dislodging a whole shower of scales which 
whirl softly down to the ground, then the cross- 
bills follow and gather up the seeds at their 
leisure. 

It is claimed that the crossbills are very fond 
of salt, and that an old pickle keg or a salt barrel 
will attract them like deers to a salt lick. They 
are very sociable and can be quite easily coaxed 
into friendly relations. It is amusing to watch 
them swing from the trees parrot style, or to see 
them snap at the pine cones and call out kimp, 
lamp in their dry, sharp fashion. 

The crossbills fly in flocks to their northern 
homes, sounding forth their sharp, clicking call 
note as they wing their way. Their love song is 
said to be a low, musical murmur, like the bab- 
bling of a brook on a mid-summer day. 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 215 

THE HORNED LARK 

The horned, or shore, lark is a familiar winter 
resident in the northern and eastern section from 
Ohio to the seaboard and southward to the trop- 
ics. In New England these birds arrive in great 
companies, about the first of October, and disap- 
pear generally with the approach of the first 
snowstorm. As the season advances, they are 
particularly numerous in South Carolina and 
Georgia, according to Nuttall, "frequenting 
open plains, old fields, commons, and the dry 
shores and banks of bays and rivers, keeping con- 
stantly on the ground, and roving about in fam- 
ilies under the guidance of the older birds, who, 
watching for any approaching danger, give the 
alarm to the young in a plaintive call very similar 
to that which is uttered by the skylark in the same 
circumstances. Inseparable in all their move- 
ments, like the hen and her chickens, they roost 
together in a close ring or company, by the mere 
edge of some sheltering weed or tuft of grass on 
the dry and gravelly ground, and thickly and 
warmly clad, they abide the frost and the storm 
with hardy indifference." 

As the supply of weed seeds, berries, larvse, 
and sleeping insects in their feeding ground is ex- 
hausted, they range elsewhere, and by a clever 
management and economy, since they often live 



216 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

on almost nothing at all, they keep themselves 
fat. They are offered in the southern markets, 
and are highly prized as a food. 

The horned larks are numbered among the few 
bird walkers, and are birds of the ground. 
When disturbed, they run a little distance and 
then seek to hide themselves by squatting flat. 




Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 
HORNED LARK 
A bird who knows how to keep fat on very little to eat. 

In their northern home, far away in Labrador 
and Greenland, it is said the male horned lark 
often rises into the air, warbling as he ascends, 
after the fashion, if not so musically, of his cousin 
the European skylark. But with us mum is the 
word, save for the sharp call note of the sentinels 
when danger is near. 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 217 

The horned lark we know is but a pale edition 
every way of the bird in his summer, love-warm 
glory of the tropics. His dull brown eoat, then, 
gives place to a wondrously beautiful chocolate- 
colored suit, tinted and streaked with pinkish- 
gray. The few erect feathers on the sides of his 
head deepen and grow into very black, horn-like 
egrets. His throat glows with a richer, yellower 
hue, and the dainty crescent-shaped black patch 
on his breast takes on a jaunty, glossy sheen, 
making in all a most gorgeous display of wed- 
ding finery. And an ardent, devoted mate is 
the horned lark. He roosts on the ground, close 
bedded in moss, beside his brooding spouse, and 
leaves her only for the brief time necessary to 
take his meals, and for his sudden flights of cheer- 
ing song in the air high above her. 

THE JOLLY CHICKADEE 

Chic-Chic-a-dee-dee ! saucy note 
Out of sound heart and merry throat, 
As if it said, "Good-day, good Sir! 
Fine afternoon, old passenger ! 
Happy to meet you in these places, 
Where January brings few faces." 

— Emerson. 

The chickadee, or black-capped titmouse, is a 
cheery, fearless, sociable little bird. Though he 
is here through the summer, we always associate 



218 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

him with the bleak days of winter, as it is then 
that he fills our hearts with cheer by his con- 
tagious overflow of good spirits. Florence Van 
Sant, in a few charming verses, dubs him Mr. 
Chickadee, D.D., and says: 

"The sermon we should not forget: 

'Happy and cheerful be. 
Have diligence, be brave, don't fret/ 

Says Chickadee, D. D." 

"Little Friend" is the meaning of the word 
Chickadee, and he who bears it most nobly fulfils 
the promise of his name. No other bird is so 
easily tamed. He is always grateful for the 
smallest favors, and may readily be coaxed to eat 
from the hands of his friends. He loves a pine 
tree, and always sleeps in one, if possible, to be 
more safe from the owl and other enemies. The 
little bird in his downy plumage is very aptly de- 
scribed by Kelly, who queries: — 

"Do you know the little titmouse, 
In his brownish-ashen coat, 
With his cap so black and jaunty, 
And a black patch on his throat?" 

He is about an inch smaller than the English 
sparrow — not quite six inches in length; but he 
seems much shorter, on account of a plump body 
and long pointed tail. There is no bird that can 
compare with him in destroying the canker-worm 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 



219 



moth and its eggs. One authority estimates that 
he destroys about 5,500 eggs in a single day. His 
eyes are very bright, and he searches so industri- 
ously in the buds and under the bark of the trees 




S f 

Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

CHICKADEE 
A sociable little fellow who brings his welcome "with him. 

that it is seldom an insect or an egg escapes him. 
The chickadee nests in the summer woods, choos- 
ing a knot hole, a hollow rail, or the old home 
which some woodpecker or nuthatch has carefully 
hollowed out in a tree. If the owner enters an 
objection, Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee very peace- 
fully vacate. There are usually four or five 
pretty white eggs delicately touched with pink. 



220 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

During nesting time the chickadee changes his 
cheery call to a plaintive minor note like the 
tinkling of a tiny bell. 

THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 

"Quank, quank! hank, hank!" What a 
strange 'cry! Who wants Hank? Is it a bird? 
Yes, we have found him; it is the white-breasted 
nuthatch, or tree mouse. See him over there! 
That little slate-colored bird, about six inches 
long, with the black cap and neck. His wings 
are edged with black that fades to brown; his 
tail is brownish black with white bars; the un- 
derpaid of his body and the sides of his head are 
white, shading to a pale red under the tail. His 
bill is longer than his head. 

The nuthatch is the acrobat of the woods. The 
tree is his gymnasium and he performs all kinds 
of feats. He creeps in every direction with the 
agility of a mouse. Indeed, at a little distance, 
when one can not see the white breast, his little 
slate-colored coat reminds one of a mouse. He is 
fond of clinging to a branch and swinging with 
his head downwards. His build is no different 
from other birds, excepting his slightly enlarged 
toe-nails, and yet one of his greatest characteris- 
tics is the ease with which he runs up and down 
tree-trunks. He especially delights in doing 
evervthin£ head downwards. Audubon savs 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 221 

that the nuthatch even sleeps with his head hang- 
ing down. 

A pair of these birds used to have great fun 
swinging on a clothes line on a friend's back 
porch. They would grasp the line firmly, and 
swing head downwards until it would seem as 
though their brains must be in a whirl. All at 
once they would flit away to a tall poplar near 
and run eagerly up the trunk, then come back 
again pell-mell, head-first and take another whirl 
on the line. They seldom touched the ground, 
and when they did, they squatted and sprawled 
about very awkwardly. 

The nuthatch gets his name from his habit of 
wedging nuts in the cracks of trees, and then 
cracking, or "hatching," them open with strong, 
rapid blows from his long slender bill. After he 
has opened a nut, he seldom eats any of the meat, 
but searches for any insect larva? that may be hid- 
den within. He is the busiest of birds, and usu- 
ally attends strictly to his own business — that of 
hunting and destroying insects, eggs, and larva? 
under the bark of the trees by grubbing them out 
from their hiding places. Working, searching 
through the daylight hours, summer or winter, 
rain or shine, he performs a service for mankind 
which can hardly be estimated, especially among 
the fruit growers. If the snow is too deep on the 
upper side of the branch, he runs along under it 



222 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

like a fly, tapping the bark adroitly with his beak 
until he finds a decayed spot, and then stopping 
to search diligently for spider eggs, and the like, 
calling out "Quank! quank! yank! hank!" be- 
tween mouthfuls. This call note is not very mu- 
sical. One writer says : 

''Come, busy nuthatch, with your awl, 

But never mind your notes, 
Unless you've dropped your nasal chords 

And tuned your husky throats." 

The nuthatch, however, has a rapid, merry 
song of tenor notes which he sings for the enter- 
tainment of his little wife during nesting time. 
Few people get to hear this on account of the 
seclusion of the nest. The nuthatches disappear 
in April, and formerly it was thought that they 
migrated, but now it is known that they only 
retire into the seclusion of the woods to make 
their nests. This nest is made of feathers and 
moss in a hole which the birds patiently excavate 
in a tree. Sometimes as many as ten eggs are 
laid. The birds are very proud of their home 
and the nest of white eggs, spotted and speckled 
evenly with reddish-brown and lilac. During in- 
cubation, the male bird is very devoted to his little 
mate, and brings her the choicest bits of the in- 
sects he waylays, and other rare morsels. When 
the cunning little family comes forth into the 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 



223 



world, both parents are very happy and busy, too, 
for it is no small job to grub insects and search 
for eggs to feed ten hungry little mouths. The 




Drawing by R. I. Brasher. 

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 
The Nuthatch is the acrobat of the woods. 

babies soon learn to creep about on their own 
home tree, but do not attempt to fly for some 
little time. 

Nuthatches care for society only during the 
colder months when they have no family ties. 



224 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

They are often seen in company with the chicka- 
dees. They dearly love a pine tree, and the 
colder the weather, the higher their spirits seem 
to run. Dr. Cheney says: "On the coldest win- 
ter day, when all seems turning to ice, what stag- 
gers our reason and commands our admiration 
more than to see a bit of flesh and bone not larger 
than your thumb, done up in feathers in such a 
way as to defy the cold, darting around, running 
up and down rough sides of the great forest trees, 
with his little wire legs not larger than a darning- 
needle and quite as naked, and toes the size of a 
hair, with an activity and rapidity reminding us 
of electricity itself ? And this is only his regular 
exercise while getting his breakfast." 

THE STARLING 

Like the English sparrow, the starling is a 
rank interloper. He was brought here from 
England about 1890, and set free in Central 
Park, New York, and since then his hardy na- 
ture and resourceful disposition have brought him 
and his family into pretty general notice in the 
Eastern States. It seems only a question of 
time until he will be a common visitor all over the 
country. 

The starling can easily be recognized by his 
size and manner of flight. He is about the size 
of the redwinged blackbird, bu»t has a short tail. 



SOME WINTER VISITORS 225 

Those who see the bird for the first time eall it a 
blackbird with a yellow bill. 

Says Mr. Edward H. Forbush in a special 
article on The Starling: "In Europe, it is one 
of the most abundant birds. It is conceded there 
that the benefits it confers on the farmer far ex- 
ceed the harm that it does by attacks on fruit or 
crops; nevertheless, there are many instances on 
record where the starling has become a pest to 
the farmer. The habit of collecting in enormous 
flocks is the great element of danger. When a 
great number of any species having grain-eating 
or fruit-eating propensities is collected in one 
locality they are capable of doing great harm in 
a very short time. 

"The starling is a hardy, capable and prolific 
bird, which like the sparrow, has had many cen- 
turies of experience in getting its living in popu- 
lated countries and in cultivated regions in close 
relationship with man, and it has thriven in such 
an environment. It thus has an advantage over 
our native species similar to that enjoyed by the 
sparrow, which, subsequent to its introduction 
here, displaced so many native birds during the 
latter quarter of the nineteenth century. How 
can the bluebird or the house wren, which have 
been accustomed to life about human habitations 
for a comparatively short time, compete with such 
a bird as the starling?" 



226 LITTLE FRIENDS IN FEATHERS 

So many of our native birds have been dis- 
placed by these two alien fighters, that laws have 
now been made prohibiting persons from bring- 
ing foreign birds into this country, until properly 
vouched for by the bird "immigration officials." 
"America for Americans" is the cry among the 
bird folk and their friends. 



t 



UB *ARY 0F 




" 



